Live from the Breakaway March 17-31, 2024

[YVRteacher]

34 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

How is Dad doing?

He is doing well. As long as he has his chocolates and his apple fritters he’s good.

[www3traveler]

1 minute ago, YVRteacher said:

He is doing well. As long as he has his chocolates and his apple fritters he’s good.

Chocolates on the Jewel are possible.  Apple fritters may not be possible.

[sansroof]

I want to cruise with you ❤️

[YVRteacher]

29 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Chocolates on the Jewel are possible.  Apple fritters may not be possible.

Hopefully Jellyfish will be open in Ketchikan!

[YVRteacher]

I have found my breakfast mojo on this cruise. We never get up early enough for breakfast in Taste and Savor and we are avoiding the crowds in the Garden Cafe so O’Sheehan’s it is. This morning I had a Painkiller with my fruit and pancakes and forgot to take photos of all but the fruit.

 

I present to you a fruit plate. Mine came with zero kiwi and my friend had two pieces so she shared. I love my friends!!

 

[YVRteacher]

Harvest Caye, Belize

 

 

 

So here we are in the comfiest beach chairs ever, nestled up against the edge of a lagoon where we avoid the beach throng, can not hear music blaring and have decided we are all old and proud of it. Well, one of us isn’t quite ready to admit to oldness, but the other two own it.

 

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s soup cans, I call this next photo montage “One Iguana, 16 Poses.” Thank you, iguana, for being so photogenic.

 

I tried my first and last Vizzy today.

 

I also had a bottle of premium iced tea from Cruise Critic friend and when he gave it to me he said, “here, it’s starfish.”

 

He meant starfruit and it was a perfect vacation beach beverage, echinoderms not included.

 

In contrast to the muddied waters of Roatan, the clear water of Belize was clean and refreshing. 

Look what I found!

After I held it for a while Mr. Crab made his appearance known so I took a photo then put him back amongst the rocks where he wouldn’t be stepped on and taken.  

 

Walking back along the long shade-covered walkway to return to the Breakaway I saw Jen and Elisa. On the first night at Howl at the Moon Jen gives the following toast:

“Here’s to bread. Without it we wouldn’t have toast. Cheers!” She then tells passengers if we see them around the ship to say that to them and they’ll say hi.

 

In all my bumbling fangirl excitement (I really love them!) I exclaimed “bread and toast!!!””

 

This got me a strange look, a “you were so close” and a pity fist bump.

#embarrassed

[YVRteacher]

Despite my letter to the GM, my plea to not have Sail and Sustain during port time was not honoured so I had to pull myself away from the beach at Harvest Caye to get to Sail and Sustain at 3:00pm.

 

Missed lunch today so I was hungry when I plunked myself down at the bar next to @fstuff1 for Sail and Sustain. This is our 3rd time doing this together. When I asked the head mixologist for some Munchy Crunchy Mix she went and procured some for everyone.

It wasn’t the best Sail and Sustain and it wasn’t the worst. The head mixologist, Judith, was engaging, friendly and fun. There were 4 of us in attendance. 

What kind of wrecked the experience was it was held in a very dark Bliss lounge at the closed bar and the cruise staff were setting up for paint class.  

 

So the experience sounded like this

“Here we have prepared for you a cordial with leftover peels and rinds and a ton of sugar”

[insert tables being dropped and crashed and clanked]

“We collect these leftover coffee grounds and mix them with a ton of sugar”

[another table is dropped and crashed on the floor]

“Then we add cheap alcohol”

[crash, clank]

“Cheers”

 

We did like the new garnish for the Café Replay which is calendula flowers instead of coffee beans.

 

 

Edited April 3 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Cruise Critic friend invited Vancouver friend to join him in Cagney’s and other Vancouver friend and I went to Shanghai Noodle Bar.

 

I got in line at 4:00pm and the moment the restaurant opened at 5:00om all seats were full. Was the wait worth it?

 

Absolutely.

Service was so bad. Food was delicious. Unlike the Asian restaurants on the smaller NCL ships there were two vegetarian appetizers and I could easily make two other dishes vegetarian giving me 4 options. I didn’t quite get what I ordered but what I did get was flavourful, hearty and rich in umami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were being seated the host asked 2 members of a group of ten to move over to the seats where he had asked them to sit in the first place. The woman had been running her fingers around the drinking glass and touching both the fork and the chopsticks. When he moved her and told me to sit where she had been sitting I said he needed to swap out the utensils. He said no. I said yes. He said no. I said yes.

Then I said it is not sanitary for me to drink out of a glass someone had just been stroking nor would I use the utensils she had touched. It should have been an automatic yes the first time I asked him to replace it, not the third. It should not have been an issue.

 

The biggest downside to Shanghai Noodles is it shares space with the casino. It’s like eating a nice meal in a cigarette factory. My hair stunk, my clothes stunk and the air stunk of cigarette smoke. It is disgusting and an awful set up that could be easily remedied with a wall.

 

The Breakaway is not the ship for you if you are at all bothered by cigarette smoke. The moment I boarded day 1 it hit me and even though the casino is on deck 8 the smell reached my cabin and every day my cabin smelled like smoke.

 

The dinner in Cagney’s took hours so two of us had bar drinks.

 

The Club Soda is mine. I tried it for the first time at Sail and Sustain today. Very refreshing.

 

We went to the early comedy show with Tyrone and met up with Soozy. Then my friends wanted to see the show in Syd Norman’s so they stood in line. It was only about a 30 minute wait. 

 

When they met up with Cruise Critic friend and I at Howl at the Moon  I asked them how it was. They said “awful” and I thought at first they were joking. They weren’t. They said it was like a combination of the cruise staff doing karaoke and not letting other people have a turn and high school musical students belting it out.

Their voices were excellent and the song choices were excellent but the banter and bopping around the room in their ridiculous outfits ruined the show.

My friends just said it was irritating and that I would have walked out. True dat.

 

Howl at the Moon was rip-roaring, dirty-toasting fun!

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Cozumel 

 

I’m loving these late morning arrivals which allow for leisurely breakfasts involving mimosas. Service in O’Sheehan’s was swift and friendly today and the food was perfectly delicious. I’m now an NCL pancake convert who adores the fluffy vanilla breakfast goodness. 

 

 

We docked at Punta Langosta this time.

 

 

 

I’ve been here twice before but did high speed catamaran ferry trips right from the dock so the newly developed port area was fun to explore. We only had 30 minutes to swiftly swish through the covered (shaded!) mall. 

 

 

As we were lining up/squishing in a smoosh for our NCL Shore Excursion some unfriendly lady grabbed me and pushed me. I said “don’t touch me” to which she responded “then get out of the way.” Ugh. 

#rude

 

[YVRteacher]

Our excursion today was the open top sightseeing bus tour with beach break. 

The stops were:

1. Market and church 
2. Otoch
3. Punta Morena
4.  

Snapshots from the bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide, Júan, was informative but he wasted 30 minutes of our time at the market pointing out his favourite stores. There were many tour groups and excursions from the 7 ships in port and each guide had a jewelry store, a leather store, a restaurant, a knick knack store, an ice cream kiosk and a fingerpaint stall from which they obviously were paired for kickbacks. He blabbed on and on while we were scorching until someone (ahem, me) said we needed to be in the shade. There were numerous people on our tour who were either elderly or mobility impaired and another woman on the tour had to tell Júan to wait for them and look out for them.

 

My friends and I separated and I, wanting to see everything and not miss anything, did a quick zip though most of the stalls. One guy said he had “the best junk in the whole market” and I found a 7-11 with the same hot dog wieners going around on the rotisserie that have been there since likely October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the market and would happily return for a non-rushed visit and a meal.

 

Our bus picked us up again after we had a quick peek at the unimpressive, unfamous church

 

and we drove to Otoch.

[tcmagnum]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

 

As we were lining up/squishing in a smoosh for our NCL Shore Excursion some unfriendly lady grabbed me and pushed me. I said “don’t touch me” to which she responded “then get out of the way.” Ugh. 

#rude

 

So rude!!

I would have looked at her and said 'I hope you aren't allergic to poison ivy/oak'.

I have done this before (even when I didn't have poison ivy/oak) and it tends to get people to back off.  You can also use any other contagious skin rash - any of them work!!

[Disney Deb]

@YVRteacher I am so glad that you are enjoying NCL again as you are my hero :). I've been reading your Alaska live reports as we are heading to Alaska (for the first time!) on the Jewel in August. DH and I have a land/cruise tour booked through a local trip planner. I can't wait to read about your trip on the Jewel. We have only been on NCL's Sun and Epic so far. 

I'm glad that your first day back at work was good and sorry about your water situation.

Thanks for taking the time for all of your funny, insightful posts!

(Also I'm a big reader (do some pre-reading of ARCs on the side) and I've enjoyed a number of your book recommendations as well.)

[graphicguy]

@YVRteacher…as always, enjoying your review immensely.

 

And, couldn’t agree with you more….

 

“The biggest downside to Shanghai Noodles is it shares space with the casino. It’s like eating a nice meal in a cigarette factory”

 

My biggest complaint on the -away ships!

[YVRteacher]

Has anyone tried to take dessert to go lately? We asked repeatedly (not rudely, just often) and were denied each time. Seems like a hard line on no dessert to go unless it’s for a Haven/Suites guest.

[YVRteacher]

There was a live on here recently where people were discussing their love for wide hallways as well as how the room stewards’ carts take up space.

 

My studio cabin was next to the linen storage room for deck 10 where all the stewards (not just those servicing the Studios) loaded their carts.

 

I would often open the Studio Lounge door and ram into the linen closet door. Then there was this.

 

All day every day. I had times when I couldn’t even access the cabin.

 

[YVRteacher]

Otoch is a Mayan family run tequila business. “Otoch” means home family. We began our time there with a Mayan dance and fire ceremony which was stunning. The dancers represent the rotation of the planets around the sun. They lit a circle of fire on the stage and were tossing the fire in their hands. It was a powerful, captivating welcome. 

 

[YVRteacher]

Next up came the tequila presentation. This was way too long and wasted so much of what could have been beach time.  The guy droned on and on about alcohol content. We sampled the following Otoch tequilas

5 year

8 year

Special

Mango

Coconut

Chocolate

Marzipan

Then I felt sick. The lady across the aisle from me on our bus told me to aim the other way. 

 

Most bottles cost $68 but the special was $600US. Nope.

 

There was a chocolate sampling room and some souvenir shops but very few people bought anything. 

 

As far as shore excursions with kickback shopping “opportunities” go, I’ll take the tequila one over the rum cake, Turkish carpets and Colombian emeralds.

[Sugar Magnolia]

28 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Has anyone tried to take dessert to go lately? We asked repeatedly (not rudely, just often) and were denied each time. Seems like a hard line on no dessert to go unless it’s for a Haven/Suites guest.

 

Have not been able to take dessert to go since 2022, likely for my convenience.

 

[YVRteacher]

Finally we arrived in paradise for the best portion of the excursion.

 

Beach time!

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful beach.

Secluded and rustic and stunning. We just headed for the glistening, beckoning ocean (right after ordering rip-off-priced beach tacos and guac and chips) and savoured the best swim ever.

 

After hurriedly inhaling our food we checked out the kiosks. I loved the bowls but didn’t buy anything.

 

 

 

 

 Our time at the beach was way too short. It felt rushed because it was rushed and I wish our guide hadn’t consumed our time as he did.

 

I haven’t had a chance to check out a map to see where we were but I snapped this sign so I can take a taxi there on a future trip to Cozumel.

 

Since we arrived back at the port at 5:35pm and had dinner reservations for 6:00pm (more on that later) there was no time to go to Mega. We were at the right pier and everything. I was definitely disappointed but I’ll be back. I missed my one chance at a supermarket!

 

Bye for now, Cozumel.

[YVRteacher]

Cozumel evening

 

When we did Dinner with the Officers we skipped our reservations at Teppanyaki. This was not at all a bad thing given the poor experience I had last week. 

 

We all still had specialty dining to use so I tried through the app and at the reservations desk to secure a table for a party of 4. The only restaurant that had space was La Cucina and that was a no from two of us. It’s a waste of a specialty dining meal. 

 

I called in a favour from someone and miraculously (that was sarcasm) we suddenly had a table for 4 for Moderno at 6:00pm for tonight. 

 

I arrived back at the cabin still damp from the ocean, sand dribbling out of my bathing suit and seaweed in my hair. I know it doesn’t specifically state “no seaweed in the hair” in the dress code but I figured it would be in my best interest not to show up looking like Medusa.

 

That was a speedy shower/hair drying/make up applying/get dressed fancy endeavour. Most of the time I prefer the once a day cabin cleaning, but on a day when a sandy beach is involved an evening cabin vacuuming would be great.

 

Our dinner at Moderno was wonderful in terms of food and bumbling (at best) in terms of service. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the best food I’ve ever had in Moderno.

 

We had Caipirinhas! So sweet and yummy.

 

The skies turned from blue to orange to black as the sun set and we departed Cozumel for our northward journey.

 

This was a great day.

 

For the late evening, one friend went to the casino, two friends went to the adult comedy show and I went to the cabin because I needed downtime and quiet. I’m an introvert and Cozumel is overwhelming.

 

The friends who went to the comedy show said that it wasn’t risqué enough and that neither of the comedians had prepared a set. This is what I said last week.  Overall the comedians were disappointing and the standard just isn’t there.  Each comedian only had 20 minutes and neither showed up with material. When we went to the early show on whatever night that was, Tyrone just did the same set he did on the opening night. So basically NCL is paying the  

comics (who are hired and managed by Levity) and are providing them with a cruise (or two or three depending upon how long they are on board) and the only expectation is 20 minutes of material. It’s lame and it isn’t good entertainment value for money.

[brookie848]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Has anyone tried to take dessert to go lately? We asked repeatedly (not rudely, just often) and were denied each time. Seems like a hard line on no dessert to go unless it’s for a Haven/Suites guest.

We were denied to-go until we told them we were in a suite. And then they still have the night butler come get it and it magically appears at some point. This is even in the Haven restaurant -- we had cake that we weren't going to finish and they wouldn't let us take it on our own one floor down.

I understand the policy, but I just feel badly that I'm making a butler do a task that I could easily do myself. And I feel badly for the people who would responsibly deal with their dishes that aren't allowed to take dessert back to their cabin.

[graphicguy]

I must be a rebel.  I just grab my desert plate along with a fork and head for my cabin.  I don't ask.  Haven't had anyone stop me (so far).

Edited April 4 by graphicguy

[Sugar Magnolia]

10 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I must be a rebel.  I just grab my desert plate along with a fork and head for my cabin.  I don't ask.  Haven't had anyone stop me (so far).

 

That's because they know you as that menace from Haven.

 

[brookie848]

42 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I must be a rebel.  I just grab my desert plate along with a fork and head for my cabin.  I don't ask.  Haven't had anyone stop me (so far).

Our awesome waiter in Onda basically told us this. He said we weren't allowed, but they wouldn't stop you. So if you want to grab and run...go for it!

 

For us, though, it wasn't dessert -- it was the leftover pizza. We weren't quite rebellious enough to grab the pizza pan and abscond with it. Maybe next time...

Edited April 4 by brookie848

[Always Cruising]

Love your review, and your writing style!  I think I missed the dinner with the officers recap.  Which officers attended, and how was it?  The last one I attended was set for 14 at a giant almost square table (quite a few tables pushed together), and only 2 officers and 5 guests attended.  Lots of empty space, and we couldn't talk to each other at all (except to my friend who was seated next to me, and we'd already been together for 2 weeks!)   I suggested we move around to be at least close to others, but the idea was nixed.