PierceChristopher

Thanks for all the posts everyone! Really glad the info and pics are useful [emoji4]

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PierceChristopher, thanks for the food pics and especially the menus. Do you happen to have the Le Bistro dessert menu?

Glad to share. Here's the Le Bistro dessert menu. Sorry for not posting it before. Let me know if you can't read it.

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We will be on the Breakaway and I'm getting a little confused (DH says 'nothing unusual about that') as to which eateries are free.

 

 

 

Are some of the speciality restaurants free at certain times, ie for breakfast or have I been making 2+2 = 5 :o

 

 

 

Thank you

I did a post of all the Freestyle Dailys on my Nov 13 BA cruise. The last page of each one can the names and times of the complimentary dining options.

NCL Breakaway Freestyle Dailys 11/13-11/20

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425691

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Is there also a complimentary breakfast buffet also in Margaritaville? With an omelet station?

Yes.

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I would think Cagneys. Moderno you have to wait for the different meats to come around, whereas Cagneys has set plates. Whichever you choose, I would suggest an earlier sitting so you're not rushed. On several occasions we did a 530-6pm seating with the 930 show and we had plenty of time to get a drink, and find good seats for the show, without having to rush through any of the courses of dinner. You could also mention to the waiter that you have a show to go to, and you want suggestions on plates that wouldn't take too long to make. That way they'll also be aware to close out your tab as soon as you're ready. If you want a drink for the show, you could order it at the restaurant and bring it with you so you don't need to stop at another bar.

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Lots of good points on this thread. I went wild on my Breakaway cruise on 11/13, so I'm sure I was drinking 1500-2000 calories a day lol. Yikes. I did 30-60 min of weights/cardio a day, and still gained, but my eating didn't help either. The best option (for me) would be to do a flavored vodka with soda water. At least that may only be about 100 calories a drink. I stay away from sweet sodas (even diet) because I drink them MUCH faster than plain soda water. If you're set on trying a few sugary/sweet/mixed drinks, save them for "earlier" in the day when you have a better chance of working it off before bedtime.

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They changed the wonderful mussels in pernod cream sauce to mussels in a flavorless white wine broth sauce - it's awful. What a mistake!

I knew it was different somehow! Here are pics of my 2015 sailing and then from a couple of weeks ago...

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PierceChristtopher thank you for posting.

My pleasure! I have a whole bunch of menus and pics of food on my review below if interested.

NCL Breakaway Bahamas Nov 13 Food and Drinks!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425269

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Good call out about the servers; I was also surprised they weren't more informed.

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Was on Breakaway Nov 13-20, and there was no pizza on menu [emoji853]

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On our 11/13-20 Breakaway cruise, we did Moderno, Cagneys, Le Bistro, Wasabi and La Cucina. I have menus and pics in my post below: NCL Breakaway Bahamas Nov 13 Food and Drinks!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425269

I have (a few of) my favorites listed below.

At Moderno, the Flank Steak was amazing.

At Cagneys, the goat cheese app was great, and the Filet Mignon was outstanding.

At Le Bistro, the Jumbo Shrimp were good, and the Scallops were great.

At Wasabi, the Surf n Turf roll was delish!

At La Cucina, the beef lasagna was amazing, as was the Osso Buco!

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I do believe when you use one of your SDP meals at Ocean Blue, you do pay that surcharge in addition, but you can have multiple apps and deserts if you want, but it only covers one entree.

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Citrus Jem was a hit with my group on the Breakaway. Here's my post with several menus and pics of the drinks. Let us know what you try, and what you loved! [emoji483][emoji484][emoji483][emoji484][emoji483]

NCL Breakaway Drinks and menus!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425335

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I had to log in to get online, which makes me think you can use multiple devices. I bet two devices can't be logged in at same time though.

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For me, best dish was Apricot Rice Pudding in the MDR.

 

 

 

Also, and yes, I know you asked complimentary, BUT FWIW the best dish overall was the Tomahawk Ribeye at Cagneys....my god it was one of, if not the, best steaks I have ever had.

ALMOST got the Tomahawk. Really wish I did after hearing your feedback.

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Hueveros Rancheros breakfast in Savor. So good! Also the Steak Frites dinner were so good! Warm Lava Chocolate cake desert was fav!

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in retrospect, do you advice self disembark (if able to)or at least being in the first group?

If able, and don't mind waking up that early, self-disembark is pretty smooth. Otherwise, first group should be good also, but to be honest, I've only done self assisted and last group in the past. In the end, I'm willing to bet all exiting groups face varying, but similar, issues in the customs hall.

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Is it possible to become an alcoholic after only 7 days? DH and I have the UBP and looking at these menus I'm quite worried :eek: :D:D

If you drink enough, you'll be looking forward to the detox at home on day 8 [emoji23]

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Hi PierceChristopher, I was thinking of the TopMast Spirits and Beer/Cider menus if you don't mind. We have friends travelling with us and they like the beers and spirits although I'm a wine and cocktails kinda gal :D Thank you so much!

I looked through my pics and I don't have any of those menus, sorry ☹️

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if 8 year olds watch dancing with the stars, would burn the floor be comparable to that?

Yes, then they should love Burn the Floor.

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Time to say goodbye. Not one of my most memorable trips, but a good one overall. I'll do it again no doubt, and hopefully we'll have better luck with the ports and weather.

Please feel free to contact me if any of you have any questions. I've already s en some great ones come through.

All the best! [emoji106]

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I ordered the Affogato, which is espresso poured over ice cream. For such a simple dish, it was fantastic. The ice cream was delicious, and the effect of the hot espresso in the creamy ice cream made it even more so. I may have a new desert favorite to order when I’m out again at Italian restaurants. Sorry, started eating before I took the pic ☹️

We also ordered the Panna Cotta alla Vanigila, and that too was fantastic. It was so smooth and sweet, but not overly sweet. The berries made it even better. Totally recommend it (and of course, don't forget the chocolate tart).

So glad our last meal, during this somewhat underwhelming dining adventure, turned out great. Great food. Great service. And great company.

Brought mom back to the room so I could hang out downstairs for the last night. I went to shakers and ordered the Rum Cake. It was delicious, but super super creamy. It’s something I needed to sip slowly given how thick it was. Glad I tried it.

The entertainment for the night was Melvin Harold on guitar, and I really REALLY regret not seeing him perfom until now. His voice was like Tracy Chapman’s style, and I loved it, so much so that I bought his CD (now I need to find a CD player - didn't think that one through clearly after the Run Cake Martini). The other entertainment in Shakers was not my style. The piano player was OK, but compared to Melvin Harold, he was out-shined. I recommend that if you see his name on your Daily (links to all the trip's Dailys above), go out of your way to get a good seat (they’re all pretty good in Shakers), and be prepared to enjoy a really nice night.

Woke up next morning already docked in NYC.

If you want to see the ship entering NYC Harbor, you'll really need to set your alarms to get up in time. I did that last year, and it was pretty cool, as were the temps outside.

We opted to be the last group to leave the ship so we wouldn't have to rush around. I didn't want our mothers to have to stand too long in lines. We comfortably left our rooms a little after 9am (no later because stewards have only 3 hours to completely clean and restock every room). We went to the Whiskey Bar to sit and wait and read, and eventually our group was called. I was hoping there would be much less of a line at that point, but I was wrong.

There was a huge line waiting (in the cold outside weather - wear warm clothes) to get into the customs terminal. There is lots of crowd control required considering the space in the customs terminal, but Norwegian should consider allowing passengers to remain seated in the ship in a designated area. There was a considerable amount of standing in that line, I'm guessing as much as 30 minutes or more. At lease we had a view of our home for the past week.

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For Secondi, mom ordered the Filetto di Branzino, which was pan-seared sea bass. She thought it was very nice.

Companions both ordered the Filetto di Manzo, which was the filet mignon with gorgonzola crust. That was fantastic.

I got the Osso Buco, which was oven-braised milk-fed veal shank, and it was delicious. The meat fell off the bone and was super tender. Sorry pic is out of focus - I must have been getting delirious from the food all week.

For Dolci, mom ordered Tiramisu (for “me”), and again loved it. Thought it was light, and not too sweet.

Companions ordered Torta di Ricotta (ricotta cheesecake), and the Torta di Ciiccolata e Lamponi (chocolate tart). The ricotta cheese cake was really good, but the chocolate tart was out of this world. The chocolate was rich and smooth, and I may have been able to eat two if I could possibly stuff it in.

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I ordered the Involtini di Melanzane alla Ghiotta, which was two rolls of sautéed eggplant with roasted veal stuffing. It was really good, and I recommend it.

On to the pasta dishes. FYI; you can order an entrée-sized portion of the pastas if you like. Mom ordered the risotto, and it was very nice.

Companions ordered the Linguine Cioppino, which is seafood in linguini. It was really good.

Other companion ordered the Rigatoni, and liked it also.

I ordered the beef lasagna, and it was very flavorful, and one of the best dishes I had on the ship.

We had another day setup for a nice sunset, so we gathered on our balconies to take it in. We had some sparkling wine left, so we finished that off. The sunset was beautiful, and again, left us with tons of time (about 2 hrs) to pack and head down for dinner.

La Cucina for the last night. Last time we cruised together we had fantastic (I mean really great) Italian on the Brilliance of the Seas. Ending with specialty Italian may become a tradition for us. We’ll see.

Anyways, started off with the server being absolutely amazing. Her name was Querta from the Philippines. I’m in the service industry, so I can tell when someone likes their job, and that enables them to do it well. She was so attentive, was able to predict our needs, and was patient all the way. Being that we didn’t have many amazing servers on the trip, she closed out our last meal with such great sentiments. I filled out a hero card for her.

I ordered the Bellini, and loved it. Sometimes (but rarely) I have a Mimosa with brunch after a night of drinking (which some of you, at this point in the review, may be asking yourselves is “when is he ever not drinking”). After having the Bellini, I may consider switching Mimosas for Bellinis going forward. It's made with peach purée (or just peach juice) instead of orange juice, which makes it much less acidic.

The table bread was warm and soft, so really liked that. Mom ordered the Carpaccio di Manzo. She thought it was nice but not as flavorful as she remembers it from restaurants.

Companions got the Mozzeralla di Bufala Caprese, and the ceasar salad. The mozzeralla on the Caprese was great, and the ceasar salad was as good as it’s been in other specialty restaurants.

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