Breakaway specialty dining questions

We are sailing NCL for the first time on 11/8 on the Breakaway. We usually sail RCCL. What's everyone think about the Specialty Dining venues? Are they worth the cost compared to just eating in the Main dining room? Do they usually offer reduced prices onboard for booking the specialty restaurants the first day?

thanks in advance!

I would check the menus and decide once onboard. I've done cagneys, tepanyaki, moderno, and le bistro and they were all good but for me the MDR is a fine choice as well so I limit my specialty dining. Once onboard you can check out the menu of the MDR for each day and decide if something looks good.

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Food is subjective - Some posters will tell you the MDR food is similar to Applebees, thus horrible and disgusting. But other posters like that, so it perfectly fine for them.

I suggest you do what Moby0215 says, since the menus for all the restaurants but buffet is on the Onboard Account located on the TV in the cabin. Then decide if anything doesn't look pleasing that evening in the MDR, dine out at a specialty. That's what I did last year - Glad I did, I don't mind eating at Applebees, lol.

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In addition to maywell's suggestion about the TV you can also view the menus with NCLs iConcierge app that uses the ships wifi connection for free. I do disagree however about comparing the MDR to Applebee's. It depends on what you order but I have had some very good meals. Only once did I get something (filet mignon) which was no where close to a filet nor was it cooked properly. But that was only once out of probably 35-40 MDR experiences. Thinking about it is making me sad that I just disembarked last Sunday [emoji53]

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In addition to maywell's suggestion about the TV you can also view the menus with NCLs iConcierge app that uses the ships wifi connection for free. I do disagree however about comparing the MDR to Applebee's. It depends on what you order but I have had some very good meals. Only once did I get something (filet mignon) which was no where close to a filet nor was it cooked properly. But that was only once out of probably 35-40 MDR experiences. Thinking about it is making me sad that I just disembarked last Sunday [emoji53]

 

 

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Believe it or not, that particular restaurant gets compare to NCL alot when people explain why the don't like MDR, either because of the service and/or food taste. Which is why I said food is subjective - To some Applebees/MDR is horrid, to others its perfectly fine and not worth spending alot extra at the specialties.

Its up to OP to decide, now that they know what the nearest land restaurant comparsion is, if its worth buying UDP or not. Personally, I don't see buying even 3 days of SDP worth it but then again, that just me, everyone else is YMMV regarding dining.

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Believe it or not, that particular restaurant gets compare to NCL alot when people explain why the don't like MDR, either because of the service and/or food taste. Which is why I said food is subjective - To some Applebees/MDR is horrid, to others its perfectly fine and not worth spending alot extra at the specialties.

 

Its up to OP to decide, now that they know what the nearest land restaurant comparsion is, if its worth buying UDP or not. Personally, I don't see buying even 3 days of SDP worth it but then again, that just me, everyone else is YMMV regarding dining.

 

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My comment was saying that my opinion is that it is NOT comparable to Applebee's. Applebee's is for the most part fast food with a bar atmosphere. MDR while not the most fanciest of fine dining, is surely much more fine dining then Applebee's. From the atmosphere and to my opinion the food. Is it 5 stars? No. But to me it's good and doesn't warrant eating at specialties except if I don't like anything on the menu.

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Le Bistro. Excellent

Moderno. Poor very tough meat and not great service

Cagneys. Pleasant. Steaks was good..too much food

Teanyaki. Very good meat, and overall enjoyable.

The Haven Restaurant. Steaks were not very tender, service was outstanding. They have the same menu with one special each night. Very pleasant and lovely restaurant.

Le Bistro. Excellent

 

Moderno. Poor very tough meat and not great service

 

Cagneys. Pleasant. Steaks was good..too much food

 

Teanyaki. Very good meat, and overall enjoyable.

 

 

 

The Haven Restaurant. Steaks were not very tender, service was outstanding. They have the same menu with one special each night. Very pleasant and lovely restaurant.

My experience at Moderno was much different. With it being the cheaper option of the specialties I thought the meat was very good. I eat Brazilian steakhouses a lot because I have family in Brazil and the picanha was excellent. And the "salad" bar is great however I rarely eat much from there because then I wouldn't be able to eat the meat.

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Le Bistro - Excellent (BEST Filet Mignon ever)

Cagney's - Very good

La Cucina - Good

Teppanyaki - Excellent

Spiegel Tent surf/Turf - Excellent

My experience at Moderno was much different. With it being the cheaper option of the specialties I thought the meat was very good. I eat Brazilian steakhouses a lot because I have family in Brazil and the picanha was excellent. And the "salad" bar is great however I rarely eat much from there because then I wouldn't be able to eat the meat.

 

 

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I was surprised also at Moderno. We went at 7 and the place was almost empty. Having enjoyed one of these in Buenos Aires I didn't expect it to be the same...however it was really bad.

I was surprised also at Moderno. We went at 7 and the place was almost empty. Having enjoyed one of these in Buenos Aires I didn't expect it to be the same...however it was really bad.

That sucks. Maybe because it was empty the quality suffered? Hmmm will have to keep that in mind next time. However just off the breakaway last Sunday, we ate at Moderno on Saturday and it was excellent.

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That sucks. Maybe because it was empty the quality suffered? Hmmm will have to keep that in mind next time. However just off the breakaway last Sunday, we ate at Moderno on Saturday and it was excellent.

 

 

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We were on the same cruise 😀

We were on the same cruise 😀

Which is why I said food is subjective...[emoji52] Neither one is right nor wrong because, well, its your respective tastes buds - What seems bland /overcooked/ undercooked/ overly seasoned/ cold/hot/ doesn't taste right to one person is perfectly fine to another. *shrug*

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We are sailing NCL for the first time on 11/8 on the Breakaway. We usually sail RCCL. What's everyone think about the Specialty Dining venues? Are they worth the cost compared to just eating in the Main dining room? Do they usually offer reduced prices onboard for booking the specialty restaurants the first day?

 

thanks in advance!

We love Moderno and Bistro.

There are no discounts for booking them.

I would say definitely yes try some specialty restaurants! So much variety to choose from. On our BA cruise last spring we only at in specialty restaurants and never got a chance to try any of the MDR! My feelings ranged from like to love for all of them except the Italian. It was pretty boring and lackluster. It seems with the new pricing schedule the menu will become more interesting though. Enjoy!

I'm one of the guilty folks who refers the MDR food as Applebees or Outback quality. That's not bad. Actually my son is the GM at an Applebees in SC. So, everyone please go to an Applebees periodically!!!! Their food fine, but it's not fine dining, by any stretch. When we're on vacation we like to live it up a bit. If we have a spend another $140 -$150 to have a few really nice meals, then that's what we do. You mostly need reservations for the specialty restaurants, and we're not that organized on vacation to make those for every night of the cruise. So. 3 times is about as much as we need. The other nights are in the buffet or O'sheehan's when we get around to it.

Our top 3 are:

Cagney's - they're filets are tender and flavorful. Being an ex meat cutter, I know my steaks. They're of high quality.

Le Bistro - too many good things there. They just changed their swordfish and it's top notch. Their Coq Au Vin is wonderful.

Teppenyaki - Great show and the food is prepared perfectly. We always have to watch what we eat here. Last cruise we both spent the night in bed. No not that!. Because we ate so much we couldn't move.

Bottom 2

La Cucina - who doesn't like Olive Garden!!! Yes It's Italian(American), no it's not fine dining.

Moderno. - It's to hit or miss. Sometimes it's good, others the meat is way over cooked.

As others have said, food is very subjective. I can't tell you want you will like.

Hence to continue to subjectiveness of food my sister and I were on Breakaway in August. We had the UDP and ate only at the specialty restaurants. Here's my take:

LeBistro - great food, ok service (rack of lamb - fantastic, salmon - very good)

LaCucina - ok food, great service (chicken parm - terrible, osso bucco - very good)

Moderna - best salad bar I've ever had. Meat wa.s basically awful (tough, overcooked, mostly inedible)

Cagney's - very disappointed considering the great reviews it got. Steaks were just ok, service was terrible

Lunch at Manhattan MDR - we went to Wine Lover's the Musical on Saturday. Great show and good food.

Ocean Blu - best meal we had onboard (this was comped to us, so not sure I would have paid $45/pp)

O'Sheehans - ok food (should have had the pot pie).

Shanghi - great free Chinese food

Breakfast every day at the buffet. Lunch was wherever we were when we were hungry.

We are sailing NCL for the first time on 11/8 on the Breakaway. We usually sail RCCL. What's everyone think about the Specialty Dining venues? Are they worth the cost compared to just eating in the Main dining room? Do they usually offer reduced prices onboard for booking the specialty restaurants the first day?

 

thanks in advance!

I'm currently on the Breakaway.

La Cuchina (Italian) was only OK. Cagney's the same. Teppanyaki we skipped this time, as we didn't care for it much on the Jewel.

Heard from fellow passengers that Le Bistro was also only OK & quite a few cancelled reservations there.

I do have access to the Haven restaurant, but to be honest, it isn't anything special either.

Come on board, check the menus & ask fellow passengers- as the quality can change from cruise to cruise I would imagine.

Have a great cruise!

We loved the speciality dining on Breakaway. BTW we will be on the same cruise as you. We did LeBistro, Moderno, Tepp., and the Italian. Cagneys was booked way out. I booked the italian while on the cruise. We did the main dining room one time (for us we were underwhelmed and it was extremely long). Two nights we did the free asian. Really good. Taste the day we embarked for lunch.

Now if you want to try speciality and would like hours between 6 and 7:30 prebook. We ate late after 8 every night so for us dining was always leisurely and beyond our expectations. Another thing, some of the dining has outdoor seating. If that is something you like, try to arrange the dining around our warm weather nights.. It is really so nice.

If you go to your account online, look up your reservations you will see there are day packages for dining now as an option. That is what we did this time around verse paying individually. I don't need 7 nights but having the 4 made the cruise feel special.

Let me state I really don't like buffets and I thought the Breakaways was fantastic.

In opinion only, the regular sit down was probably our most disappointing. Uptown burgers were really good as well! Try not to miss it and try to hit before or after the noon to 1 lines.. It's by the pool..

Enjoy!

we were on Breakaway in August also. Our " perk" we chose when booking was the UDP so we could eat at any of the specialty restaurants, and a couple extra charge. We made our reservations ahead on line at what restaurants we wanted to do with our dining package. Must admit we enjoyed the Manhattan Room which is complimentary the most, there was a special waitress there, and we even cancelled a late week La Cucina reservation to go BACK to Manhattan Room. We tried Moderno, our reservation was LATE, maybe that is why we found it to be our least favorite, Cagney's , WAY too long to be served and food was OK, not that great. LOVED Teppanyaki the most.

We have booked for next year also on Breakaway, our thoughts NOW are that we may do the 3 day specialty and purchase it, and use our " option" to do the UBP this time, since we liked the complimentary dining room just as well, if not better than most of the specialty dining venues. As mentioned before, don't miss the Uptown Bar and Grill also.

I ate at teppanyaki, moderno, and cagneys. They were good but I was happy I chose the UBP over UDP.

I can't find a recent beer list online anywhere for the Breakaway. Can anyone help me out in knowing what the beer offerings are?

Update, nevermind, I just found one... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2196711