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Observations from 11.3.13 Breakaway, Zakaraian Chef Table, Port Canaveral and Nassau

Breakaway11032013

By Breakaway11032013,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Breakaway11032013

Breakaway11032013

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My wife and I were on the Nov 3rd NCL Breakaway sailing. Rather than post a review here’s a brain dump of random thoughts and observations we had from our experience. Mostly it’ll be a jumble of answers/responses to random posts we read while planning our cruise, items that we wish we knew about before sailing, and some rough edges we noticed but hopefully all in it’ll provide some useful info to others.

 

Background:

  • We are two early-thirty adventuresome, well-traveled, laid back, private food nerds without kids from a major city in the North East.
  • Our goal taking this cruise was to hit a sandy beach and celebrate our anniversary.
  • We’re not big cruisers, our only other experience was a 3-day Disney cruise earlier this year (also, ironically, with Nassau as its port of call).
  • The cruise was booked as a CAS (Casinos at Sea) “free cruise” provided by the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; therefore, CAS is not just land-based casinos affiliated with Caesars.
  • The NCF (non-comissionable fare) CAS charges is $25 a day/per person + taxes. So it was $175 (NCF)+$134.01 (taxes) per person.
  • We booked the cruise in late October (it was a spur-of-the-moment decision) and there was limited availability so we ended up in an inside “family” (I1) on deck 13 with a central hallway.

 

Embarkation:

  • Those coming from mid-town Manhattan or taking the bus to Port Authority/train from Grand Central, the M42 cross-town bus is perfect to get to the port. It stops at the Circle Line (Pier 83), so you don’t even have to cross 12th Ave
  • The x-ray/security scanners are cruise terminal employees. They don’t seem to be looking for contraband alcohol so you may have luck smuggling some aboard if you’re so inclined out of Manhattan, particularly if you arrive when it's “busy.”
  • The CAS lines are sanctioned closed. Make sure you ask/tell someone you’re CAS to get into the expedited lines (yes lines, there’s a CAS line for security, and a CAS line for check-in, and then a CAS line to the waiting area) they DO lookup your name/reservation before letting you enter the line, which is nice to keep the CAS lines reserved for CAS guests.
  • The boarding numbers were only loosely enforced with some non-CAS guests sneaking into the priority boarding by holding matching boarding numbers as the CAS guests. Conveniently the CAS waiting area was more or less a cattle shoot to the boarding walkway (boarding was onto deck 7 aft).
  • Dining reservations are NOT at their normal location next to the guest services desk as you board. They are taken at Headliners instead only while in port on Day 1.
  • For those who are airplane nerds, stay up on deck after the Verrazano Bridge; you will sail under the JFK landing pattern, and it should be during the heavy afternoon arrivals of European flights and will yield some spectacular views of wide-body aircraft.

 

Cabin:

  • With the door closed interior rooms are nearly pitch-black which is amazing. However, the downside is the LEDs on the HVAC controls and TV power light shine that much brighter because of this. Bring some tape to cover them up if you want absolute darkness.
  • It seems like a terrible design flaw but some interior rooms with a central corridor will have a pole right in front of the door making entering and exiting tricky for some. Here’s an example It looks limited to aft interior rooms with a central corridor on decks 12-14. The rooms I noticed it on were, 14627, 14623, 14619, 14515, 13653, 13649, 13645, 13641, 12657, and 12653. Someone else can confirm if other rooms share this characteristic as well.
  • The cabin’s mini-bar does not get very cold even when at the coldest setting (in our experience, the yogurt we were storing had spoiled). Ironically though because the mini-bar is in an enclosed space the area around it gets quite warm so be careful not to put heat sensitive objects near the venting area under the desk.
  • If you request that the cabin steward empty the mini-bar, they will empty the contents into the ottoman/seat. So be aware if you have items in there before they empty the mini-bar.
  • There is no way to disable the HVAC fan/blower, so even when the room is at temperature and no heating/AC is running, the fan will blow.
  • The ship’s TV system is actually fairly responsive for being IPTV. Booking entertainment/checking account all worked more or less; however, it was not possible to make reservations at any of the main dining rooms, and you could not see any of the MDR's daily menus.
  • The limited TV listings on board are (many were SD channels upconverted/recompressed into HD):

    9 TV Guide

    10 Safety Info

    11 Activities and Information

    12 The Rockettes Channel

    13 Activities and Information

    14 Onboard Offerings

    15 Shore Excursions/Cruise Rewards

    16 Port Shopping Channel

    17 Nickelodeon

    21 Navigation Information

    22 Bow Camera (A View From the Bridge)

    23 BBC World

    24 CNBC

    25 MSNBC

    26 Fox News

    27 ESPN (ESPN Bahamas feed)

    28 Engage Network

    29 Favorite Shows

    30 Favorite Movies

    31 Window Channel/Special Feed

    38 Fox News CC


  • Check your cabin TV as it may still list who was in your room previously (it does reset itself eventually)
  • The TV is “locked” to a single input “HDMI 1” which is the ship’s closed circuit system. If you’re inclined to bring your own entertainment and want to use one of the other inputs you’ll need to disable “Hotel Mode” and use the buttons recessed along the upper right edge. Also, while it seems impossible to access the input jacks when mounted, it is quite easy to unmount the TV (simply slide it up 1/2” and it’ll lift off its mount). Obviously be careful and make sure you restore everything when you’re done for the next guest.
  • They never updated the Navigation channel- it tracked our updated route but kept thinking we were going to Great Stirrup Cay
  • There are a few spelling mistakes littered throughout the NCL provided programing

 

Around the Ship:

  • In addition to being the “Jersey Week” cruise it was also the “Wicked Fan Cruise” - they camped down in Fat Cats for most of their programing. But otherwise there was no mention of them in the Daily or by other guests. We did overhear their programing one day and sad to say their singers were much stronger than some of the ship’s regular entertainers.
  • As others have mentioned, this was a VERY full cruise for jersey week, ~4,700 passengers and ~1,100 kids. We only noticed this during meal times and showtimes but even then it wasn’t unbearable. In fact, on numerous occasions, we were able to have the mid-ship pool/hot tub all to ourselves (albeit later in the evening).
  • Speaking of kids, the enforcement of height/age restrictions devolved by the end of the cruise. Kids were left unattended in (adult-only) hot tubs, and for the rock wall and ropes courses many kids weren’t being checked for height.
  • I’m not sure if it's because the ship was so full, but we were only provided a single Daily for the two of us each evening. When we requested additional copies at guest services, they were xerox copies.
  • This fact is obvious on the ship maps, but it's worth pointing out how easy it is to determine if you’re in the forward staircase or aft staircase (generally the signs by the elevators should be right - but we noticed them incorrectly labeled on deck 9 aft) -- if the staircases are “together” you’re forward. If there’s a split between the two sets of stairs you’re aft.
  • The ship is already showing some wear and tear which is unfortunate for a ship under 6 months old.

 

Guest Areas and Entertainment:

  • At O’Sheehans, darts are $1 per person per game and there are two machines. The machine is a Galaxy III - with many game options; however, the soft-tip darts are in terrible condition so bring your own if you’re so inclined.
  • You can find “awards” given to the ship and the crew on deck 8 aft, near the Cagney’s entrance. It's interesting to see how some ports spent a lot of time and resources on these plaques, while others basically tasked it out to an intern (CPB I’m looking at you).
  • You can find the “certificates” verifying the ship’s seaworthiness on deck 6 forward, near the Spiegel Tent entrance. Disturbingly the ship may have missed its periodic inspection (that, or they just haven’t updated the certificate yet…)
  • The card room and library both are mini-Rockette museums with photographs, costumes and a timeline of the entertainers.
  • The card room had “fresh” supply of games: Monopoly, Chess, Checkers, Chinese Chess, Dominos, puzzles, and cards. Interestingly the cards were discarded casino decks. I’m curious if they refresh the games with each sailing as they were in unusually good condition and seemingly not missing pieces.
  • They offered a self-led shabbat service on Friday evening in the card room, that included “free” sacramental wine.
  • We won trivia twice - prizes were a water bottle and a mini-flashlight, basically throwaways. Afternoon trivia is much better attended than morning. However, at each trivia event we found it very odd that NCL-provided pens were treated like gold. Each trivia host repeatedly insisted that pens be returned at the end of the event.
  • When attending busy events in the atrium, it seems the solution to the space issues others have noted is to grab any loose chair available on the ship and use it. They also closed down the walkway from the forward elevators to the atrium and required guests to walk through O’Sheehans instead while programing was taking place.
  • They were not enforcing refusing admission after shows started for “Burn the Floor” or “Rock of Ages”. We sat at the rear both times and there was a constant flow of traffic in and out, so be aware that there maybe loud distractions if you sit near the rear.
  • There’s a small but navigable space between the theater walls and the seats so If you’re skinny, it's easy to shimmy down the far left or right side of the Breakaway Theater (which is nice, as people often left these seats open).
  • There are some terrible sight lines in Headliners - there are poles blocking some of the views from the back and sides so arrive early to sit in front of the poles.
  • For duty-free alcohol, there were two free tastings onboard - you could sample as much as you want of Grey Goose, Johnnie Walker Double Black, Amarula, Sheridan’s and Bacardi. The samples were small (less than 1/2 oz), and you needed to go through the (very long and slow) pouring line each time to get another sample. Also, here’s the duty free booze list - a few exclusives and fair (not amazing) values.

 

On Deck Activities

  • When facing the climbing wall, the most difficult course is the blue one in the middle, the easiest course is to the far left and the moderate challenge is to the far right.
  • Shuffleboard is found on deck 7 forward (port and starboard). The surface is in fantastic condition (except when wet), the equipment is a little dodgy (with bent cues), and the game seemed like an afterthought as there are some 2”x4”s used to “block” pucks from going astray. Deck 7 seems to be the major thoroughfare for crew to walk forward/aft without invading guest areas so don't be surprised if one of them comments on your shot.
  • Even though there is a strict no-cameras/phones rule on the ropes course, they had no problem with a GoPro strapped to your head/wrist.
  • The ropes course at sunset is oddly magical; it's the highest point of the ship accessible by guests, the view is absolutely beautiful from the zip line and the plank.
  • Check your harness on the ropes course - it may have been a fluke, but rather than a serialized sling line I got one of the ‘training’ sling lines.
  • Even though the ropes course may be open, they will shut down the zip line if there is a lot of ship movement to keep people from “getting stuck”.
  • They are VERY vigilant about no jewelry on the water slides - this includes wedding bands, and other body piercings (even non-exposed ones like a tragus).
  • They drain the salt water pool at the end of each cruise. It's interesting they don’t have a pool cover but rather just a “net” to keep people out.
  • Even with our over 100% capacity sailing, we easily found the pool/hot tub to ourselves in the evenings. Granted, it was a bit chilly at times, but it wasn’t unusual to see the mid deck areas virtually abandoned around 7pm-8pm and again around 10pm-12am.
  • Fireworks are off the port aft side. They are visible from the rear of deck 8 even with the overhang, however they are more to the port side than they are to aft.
  • There are 2 pairs (4 total) binoculars along the waterfront; they are free and work surprisingly well.
  • They seem to have fixed the mislabeled NYC map in Spice H20 - their solution was painting a line from the caption “Manhattan” which was over NJ, to the island itself.
  • You can touch part of the Peter Max artwork on Deck 7; it surprisingly doesn’t appear to be painted on, but is rather a “sticker”.

 

Port Canaveral:

  • Even though we arrived at ~11am, it wasn’t until about 12:15ish that we were allowed to disembark. Just a guess why it takes so much longer in Port Canaveral compared to Nassau - in Port Canaveral it takes 4 people to handle the ropes - whereas in Nassau it takes one.
  • You start getting cell phone service about 30 minutes before you enter the Port Canaveral channel - so about 10am for our cruise.
  • We disembarked on Deck 6 aft. There are crudely made signs (some laminated sheets of paper, taped up around the ship) directing you if you don’t have an excursion booked.
  • We rented a car from Thrifty/Dollar (both use shared facilities); a free shuttle waits for passengers after they exit the terminal, cross the street, and veer left. The rental office is 4 miles from the terminal.
  • If you drive from Port Canaveral to Disney give yourself ~1h15m (the speed limit is 70 for most of the way, but there are plenty of cops) each way. Also bring change/cash as there are 4 tolls if you take 528 and it’ll cost you $4.50 each way.
  • Talking to the rental car agents, all the agencies have cabs waiting in their parking lots when a ship is in port, so don’t worry too much about returning your car after hours and finding a way back to the ship. Our cab ride was $15 with the meter running (take into account when you tip, most cabs in Port Canaveral now have to pay a fee with each port terminal entry (in addition to a yearly fee) - that just started this year).
  • For reference we exited the boat by 12:30pm, were on the road with our rental car by 12:50pm and on Disney property by 2pm. Driving back we left Disney at 6pm, were at the rental agency by 7pm, and back on the boat by 7:15pm. It's probably not worth going to Disney parks for most people, but we recommend people spending some time at Downtown Disney or DisneyQuest to get your Disney fix.
  • The security/x-ray arrangement in the cruise terminal was just like the set-up in NY. We didn’t see any NCL employees in the area - so for those of you who are so inclined, this may be your best opportunity to bring your own adult beverages on board without getting stopped.

 

Nassau:

  • We disembarked on Deck 4, which means we had to use the forward elevators/staircase to get there. To avoid getting stuck trying to get an elevator down to the gangway, we recommend taking the aft stairs/elevators to deck 5, walking to the forward stairs, and then walking down just one flight to deck 4 (the reverse is true when getting back onto the boat).
  • If they skip GSC (Great Stirrup Cay) as they seem to be doing regularly (3 out of 4 cruises at the time of this writing), evenings in Nassau can be nice if you’re smart or adventurous. We spent the evening walking to Fort Charlotte to chase the sunset (they close at 5, but the grounds are still open). Nearby there’s a cricket club where you can watch some kids practice, the Fish Fry is open and there are lots of locals out, and no one seems to mind if you collect coconuts from trees in the public area to crack open yourself - all within a 15 minute walk from the ship. Full disclosure - travel smart, don’t look like an easy target - but honestly Nassau at night seemed no more dangerous than Bangkok or Naples at night.
  • The passport office is also open late (it may even be 24 hours, someone else will need to confirm) at the port if you want your passport stamped. (For those of you who have never been, stand with your back to the boats and it is the building to the left of the port terminal. There is armed military guarding the driveway, but they’re very kind if you tell them you’re just seeking a passport stamp).
  • John Watlings Distillery is open until 6 so that’s an option as well - we went the next day and were pleasantly surprised at their facilities, which consisted of a nice self-guided tour and free samples of their rums. They have a number of interesting artifacts about the building but you can spend as little as 15min there and see everything.
  • On our full day, in addition to John Watlings, we booked a cigar rolling class at the Graycliff. We can’t recommend this enough for cigar fans - the experience consists of taking a quick tour of the cigar aging and storage facilities, rolling two cigars after watching the torcedor roll one, and then keeping all three. It tastes like the blend we rolled was Grand Gru, and the sizes were more or less a 56 gauge 6” Pyramid. Retail on these is about $17 each, so at $75 it's not a terrible deal considering you get to roll them yourself. Although the website says you get a cutter, they are only currently providing lighters. The staff is incredibly friendly (my limited spanish made them smile) and it's a nice way to spend 45 mins.
  • There is still free wifi at the McDonalds across from the British Colonial Hilton; nobody seemed to mind that we didn’t order anything.
  • We brought our own gear to snorkel on GSC so were looking for a place near Nassau. Based on some recommendations we made the trek out to Love Beach. Its an easy ride on the #12 Jitney (which picks up in front of the McDonalds). It's about an hour ride out (it goes past the airport), but only about 30 mins coming back. Price is $2, just tell the driver where you’re going, and don’t forget to say “Good Morning/Afternoon” when getting onto the bus. The beach is absolutely beautiful, and we had it to ourselves for an hour. Although it's technically private, no one bothered us. Unfortunately, the water was quite rough so snorkeling wasn’t the best, but even still we saw some fish off the reef and we could see how this could be a great alternative to Cable or Cabbage beach without the crowds. We accessed the beach without any issues from the Nirvana beachclub (look for the purple roadside sign).
  • Unlike Port Canaveral or NY, x-ray/security team at Nassau was in full force as you boarded. They stopped me with an empty rum bottle and a six-pack of Goombay Punch; however, after a short explanation, we were allowed to keep them.

 

Casino:

  • We were surprised by the number of patrons waiting in front of machines during sail away; it took until ~5:30pm (about 2h30m after departing) for the machines to go online and gambling was allowed to begin.
  • There is a table game and a slot machine finder on the interactive touch screens found by every set of stairs/elevator banks, letting you find a machine by name/denomination if you’re into slots.
  • In addition to the expected slots and tables there were also two coin pushers and two carnival games. You do not earn CAS credit on these machines.
  • The coin pusher has a bonus that’s not obvious and I saw some people playing that didn’t realize the bonus was active. The details on the pusher can be found at the manufacture’s site - http://www.vdw-int.com/product-bjk-uk.html - in addition to the quarters/tokens, you could also win “chips worth a bottle of champagne” and some clips of cash between $25-$50.
  • The carnival game is a Sega Keymaster. Where in addition to the usual prizes (headsets/tablets) they had bundles of cash ($50-$100) clipped to elevated CAS tiers “Hot” and “Golden.” If you’re inclined to play, remember this is a game of chance disguised as a game of skill.
  • If you have a drinks card you can get alcoholic AND nonalcoholic drinks at the bar.
  • If you are a credit player, they do require you to reconcile any markers at the end of the cruise unlike most land casinos where they give you 28 days or more - and it is a long process requiring two cage attendants to verify each other's actions.
  • For craps players, they do not rate odds, only the flat bet. When betting at $30 a roll (3 numbers, @ $10 each with full odds) points seemed to accumulate at 50 points an hour. There are two craps tables, they are short (about 8 feet), and extremely bouncy. It's not unusual during slow times to see them only have half a table open with one dealer and one stickman.
  • For baccarat players, they offer $25 minimum/$2000 maximum, the table is in the “VIP”/High Roller area. You may need to ask for it if you don’t see it as they use reversible table tops to switch between high-limit BJ and bacc. You will need to manually track hands yourself, they do not have an automated tracking screen. They do not let players squeeze/handle the cards so it's basically “mini-bacc.” You are allowed unlimited free hands within reason. Lastly, for bacc players they take commission IMMEDIATELY on winning bets INCLUDING ON DEALER TIPs.
  • There is food in the casino and it's available not just for players (although I’m sure they would prefer CAS players only accessed it). It's just a wall of self-service hot dogs/sandwiches/coffee/pastries situated along the aft wall on the port side and in the VIP/High Roller area on the starboard side.
  • Bar 21 (the casino bar) does offer free nonalcoholic (soda or virgin/mocktails) drinks to drinks card holders. They will also offer canned soda in these circumstances and don’t pour soda out of the gun. Bar 21 also “shares” items with Bliss so if there’s something you saw at Bliss, you can get it at Bar 21 with the drinks card.
  • The “house” scotch on the drinks card is Cutty Shark. The “house” bourbon is Jim Beam. The “house” rum is Bacardi or Myers.

 

Food & Drink:

  • We only did one premium meal, the Zakarian Chef Table - and were pleasantly surprised by the food in the main dining rooms and buffet. It was more than sufficient (although I was personally amused by those saying they preferred the food at Savor over Taste as aren’t they a single shared galley?)
  • If you go to the buffet for prime rib or lobster night they will open a bit earlier than scheduled - but be warned you will not be the only one hovering like a vulture for food.
  • Though the buffet was definitely crowded, we never had a problem finding seating for two; however, four-tops and rounds were closely guarded with a few near fights breaking out. My recommendation larger group: take your plate and find a space outside of the buffet or one deck up by Uptown Bar.
  • There are automated revolving doors leading from the buffet to the pool deck - however, we never saw them functioning. They were always left open to allow a free flow of traffic - perhaps a poor design decision.
  • Late night “snacks” on the buffet seemed to close frequently before the 11:30pm closing time - so plan accordingly (and when that happened, room service would usually have an hour+ wait).
  • The Ice Bar is actually quite a small space but it never seemed overly busy. We walked up with no reservation while other bars were packed.
  • The gloves provided for the ice bar are a bit small, they stretch, but then your skin gets exposed in between the knitting so be aware if you touch things in the ice bar (your hands may stick).
  • All drinks are premixed and poured from the speedrail - they won’t pour you shots of vodka or ice wine by itself.
  • The Ice Bar uses cone cups, the cups are then placed in plastic cups so you can hold them. As you leave, you can just pour the drink from the ice cup into the plastic cup to take it with you.
  • Supposedly most folks “average” 11 minutes in the ice bar.
  • There are 3 hot dog carts on board, they do rotate around, but generally can be found on the pool deck or Waterfront between 12-3. They do wheel one down to the atrium during football games (and probably other sporting events). The buns are not steamed, but otherwise are just like the street meat (right down to the onions in hot sauce).
  • If you tell your PCC (Personal Cruise Consultant) that you’re celebrating something s/he will provide a certificate to take to a dining room for a free cake - although it says to provide it to the Maitre’D you actually should provide it to the server.
  • The cake however, is nothing to write home about.
  • We recommend using it in the Manhattan Room, particularly if there’s live music on the day of your celebration. They will announce various celebrations, and I was able to tip them to perform a particular request for our anniversary announcement. Although they did place tables on half the dance floor, it was very sweet - there were many couples who danced on the half dance floor as their celebrations were announced.

 

Zakarian:

  • Menu
  • We’re big fans of tasting menus, and so we signed up for the Geoffrey Zakarian chef table immediately when we boarded, and heard it booked up (even at $130 a head) by the end of day 1.
  • There were 4 seatings for 10 people/seating, 6:30 and 8:30 on Day 5 and Day 6.
  • We received an unsigned invitation in our stateroom the day of.
  • It appeared Mr. Zakarian boarded in Nassau, so he is not present for the entirety of the cruise.
  • It's worth noting the experience takes place in the “rear” section of Ocean Blue, where the staff basically create a single table and leave the booth seating pushed against the walls. So this dining experience will take away from “regular” Ocean Blue availability.
  • We were part of the second seating on Day 5, and when we arrived at 8:15, Mr. Zakarian was sitting with the ship’s officers having wine, while the first seating was starting dessert.
  • The restaurant staff was a bit disorganized as the diners in our group gathered and waited in the open area of 6-7-8 (taking in the casino smoke); we began with a glass of Louis Roeder Brut champagne and then passed hors d'oeuvres.
  • The first passed hors d’oeurvre was a Tuna Crudo at around 8:45pm. There were two passes of this item. Because we were standing in the public area of 6-7-8 some very bold guests who were not part of the chef table grabbed some. So if you don’t get a reservation it may be a chance to score some “free” Ocean Blue food if you time it right.
  • As the first seating was still finishing up by 9pm a second hors d’oeurvre of Salmon Tartere was passed, as well as a refill of the champagne. This was really odd, as it was a plated dish and they handed out forks. Navigating a glass, the plate and a fork was an interesting endeavor and leads me to believe this dish wasn’t planned but was just a stalling tactic.
  • As we ate this second hors d’oeurvre, the ship’s officers exited and Mr. Zakarian came over to greet us, and he was intoxicated (but, to his credit, he played it well). He made small talk by “apologizing” for not stopping in GSC, bragging about his visit to the bridge, and talking about the ice bar.
  • We finally got seated at 9:10. The table was set with named place cards (funny thing is these were NCL stationary turned inside out to hide the logo and held together with scotch tape), and the guests were seated with couples facing each other, alternating male/female along each side. There were signed menus and bread at the table.
  • Another pour of champagne and Mr. Zakarian came over once again for small talk - repeating exactly the same items from before (GSC, bridge, ice bar…) and the first dish was introduced by him and he departed while we dove in...
  • The first seated dish was a Fluke Crudo
  • After the first dish, Mr. Zakarian was joined by a photographer to take a group picture - it was a bit odd as half the table had to get up and join the opposite side even though they had been eating.
  • For the second dish Mr. Zakarian introduced the Jonah Crab Risotto. This was served with a glass of De Aureo Spirito Sauv Blanc
  • As the dish finished up Mr. Zakarian came over again and allowed us to ask questions. In his slightly intoxicated state he was very revealing about the arrangement between NCL and himself - it is just a licensing deal for his name and menu consulting. Which in hind-sight explains a lot, such as the exec chef Erika Suarez actually came from NCL (she was on board Pride of America) and no staff actually came from Mr. Zakarian’s organization; they only “trained” with him.
  • The third dish of Monkfish was introduced by both Ms. Suarez and Mr. Zakarian together. The wine was a 2011 Stag’s Leap Viognier.
  • At this point Mr. Zakarian disappeared not to be seen again without a formal goodbye - the fourth dish was introduced only by Ms. Suarez as scallops and pork belly paired with a Castello Del Poggio Barbera D'Asti.
  • As that was cleared, coffee and petit fours were presented (one set of petit fours per couple) and glasses of Remy VSOP Congac were poured for those who were interested.
  • Ms. Suarez then presented the flourless chocolate cake and ice cream - and beamed about this creation being from her kitchen and not a separate pastry team. She thanked us for joining her.
  • And that was that, it was over by 10:45. Some of us stayed to chat as they cleared the table around us. When we tried to leave, taking our drinks with us, we were asked to pour our drinks into plastic cups to prevent the crystal ware (unique to Ocean Blue) from “walking” - but to their credit it was done very tactfully.
  • Service itself during the meal was impeccable and classic with a serving staff of over 14; each dish was delivered synchronized to the women first, then the men. They cleared and reset the silverware with each course, and glasses were never empty.
  • It was a very strange experience overall - two couples weren’t big seafood fans - yet they booked the meal knowing it was a seafood experience. One in fact came in a t-shirt so the dress code didn’t seem to be enforced. Besides being intoxicated, Mr. Zakarian seemed disconnected from the meal; in fact Ms. Suarez was more responsive and knowledgeable in explaining each dish she was present for. As well as the items mentioned previously (the plated hors d’oeurvre being passed, passed hors d’oeurvre being taken by those outside of the group, etc.)
  • Is it worth $130? If you’re a big wine drinker, you can probably make it worth it (although the wine selections/pairings weren’t particularly well done in our opinion, and certainly they’re not high-end bottles by any mark). When envisioning this experience, don’t expect to have quality time with Mr. Zakarian, and don’t expect a unique menu as all items are available a la carte from Ocean Blue’s standard menu. Then again, $130 isn’t a fortune compared to tasting menus at Guy Savoy, Tour D’Argent, Victoria & Albert's, El Bulli, etc - so it may be worth doing it if you’re a food nerd just looking to add items to your bucket list.
  • The next day in our stateroom was the picture taken by the photographer and a signed thank you note.
  • In addition to chef table there is a book signing and cooking demo on the ship. We attended the cooking demo in the Breakaway Theater, and it was about 60 mins long. A recipe card was handed out as you entered - and everything on it was basically prepared by Mr. Zakarian.
  • Mr. Zakarian was definitely more sober and talkative to the larger audience, but it was still a bit of a quirky event, so maybe there is just something off about his personality. For example he randomly boiled a lobster - but then never took it out of the pot or prepared a lobster dish. He broke a dish while plating his risotto, and would sometimes contradict what was printed on the recipe card with his verbal directions (such as recommending slicing tuna ahead of time, while the recipe card states never do such a thing). Lastly he was quite snarky with his responses to the audience.

 

Conclusion:

  • To state the obvious, the weather has a much bigger impact on a cruise vacation. We were definitely disappointed to miss GSC, and to have dicey water for snorkeling at Nassau. However, just the same, the weather helped keep people away from the outside decks so we were easily able to find private areas alone (be it at Spice H20, along the Waterfront, shuffleboard, or even by the pool at the right time).
  • We were surprised by how civil most people were, considering how hard they push the bars and alcohol.
  • There’s definitely a little bit of an entitled-northeastern attitude to many of the guests (ourselves included), but for the most part people kept to themselves.
  • Service was hit or miss. When it was good it was great, when it was bad it was forgettable - but certainly nothing offensive. We know the typhoon affected some of the crew from the Philippines and when asked about their loved-ones who may have been effected, some were very appreciative, others brushed it off.
  • The food was okay (nothing was standout amazing, but other than the infamous powdered eggs at breakfast, nothing was terrible).
  • We were also surprised at how few public announcements were made on the ship - few aboard knew about the incidents in Port Canaveral, and even the GSC cancellation seemed to be handled very quietly.
  • It seemed on our cruise we kept bumping into things just felt a little bit “rough around the edges” - from the pens at trivia, to the 2”x4” used at shuffleboard, the pole blocking some cabin entrances, the xerox daily copies, the missed Coast Guard periodic inspection, etc - I’m not sure if its because of the size/capacity of the ship, the fact that its still relatively new, or just the penny pinching by NCL (or we’re just too nit-picky). There was nothing egregious, and our cruise wasn’t overall negatively impacted, but it just lacked a certain “polish” that would make considering/recommending another NCL cruise a no-brainer.
  • Overall, this was not the most memorable experience we’ve had - but one we’re glad we did and it was a great value based on what we paid. Now it's something we can cross off our list as something to “try” but we’ll likely not rush to do again.

 

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Sauer-kraut

Sauer-kraut

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Posted

Nicely laid out review/random thoughts. I enjoyed reading your take. Although NYC is the market for the massive ships would you consider sailing on one of NCL's (relatively) smaller/older ships where you might find a more "personalized" experience. As to the pens at trivia, all I ever remember getting was a dull golf pencil so there wasn't really any glamour to keeping one as a souvenir.:rolleyes:

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

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Posted

I agree, Headliners is an awful design, not well thought out.

 

Enjoyed your review, cruised the same week and bottom line we enjoyed ourselves but we also realized we are not fan of "sea days", in which this cruise had plenty of them.

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Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line

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Dear Breakaway11032013,

 

Thank you for sailing with us and for your insightful review. Feedback from our guests is extremely important to us. We share threads and reviews with the ship's officers and with departments across the company so that we can improve and enhance our guests' vacations.

 

Norwegian Breakaway's Captain Hoyt has asked us to respond to your point about the "certificate verifying the ship's seaworthiness" that is on display outside the Spiegel Tent entrance.

 

The certificate is up to date and is endorsed for the periodic exam at 6 months. The inspector did not fill in the next periodic exam date because the certificate itself expires at that time and that triggers a different exam.

 

If you had reached out to the ship’s staff, you would have been reassured that the certificate is not only in date, but also that the rigorous vessel examination was conducted ahead of schedule with no finding or deficiencies from the US Coast Guard.

 

All the best,

Norwegian Cruise Line Public Relations

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newcruiser08820

newcruiser08820

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My wife and I were on the Nov 3rd NCL Breakaway sailing. Rather than post a review here’s a brain dump of random thoughts and observations we had from our experience. Mostly it’ll be a jumble of answers/responses to random posts we read while planning our cruise, items that we wish we knew about before sailing, and some rough edges we noticed but hopefully all in it’ll provide some useful info to others.

 

 

Background:

  • We are two early-thirty adventuresome, well-traveled, laid back, private food nerds without kids from a major city in the North East.
  • Our goal taking this cruise was to hit a sandy beach and celebrate our anniversary.
  • We’re not big cruisers, our only other experience was a 3-day Disney cruise earlier this year (also, ironically, with Nassau as its port of call).
  • The cruise was booked as a CAS (Casinos at Sea) “free cruise” provided by the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; therefore, CAS is not just land-based casinos affiliated with Caesars.
  • The NCF (non-comissionable fare) CAS charges is $25 a day/per person + taxes. So it was $175 (NCF)+$134.01 (taxes) per person.
  • We booked the cruise in late October (it was a spur-of-the-moment decision) and there was limited availability so we ended up in an inside “family” (I1) on deck 13 with a central hallway.

 

Embarkation:

  • Those coming from mid-town Manhattan or taking the bus to Port Authority/train from Grand Central, the M42 cross-town bus is perfect to get to the port. It stops at the Circle Line (Pier 83), so you don’t even have to cross 12th Ave
  • The x-ray/security scanners are cruise terminal employees. They don’t seem to be looking for contraband alcohol so you may have luck smuggling some aboard if you’re so inclined out of Manhattan, particularly if you arrive when it's “busy.”
  • The CAS lines are sanctioned closed. Make sure you ask/tell someone you’re CAS to get into the expedited lines (yes lines, there’s a CAS line for security, and a CAS line for check-in, and then a CAS line to the waiting area) they DO lookup your name/reservation before letting you enter the line, which is nice to keep the CAS lines reserved for CAS guests.
  • The boarding numbers were only loosely enforced with some non-CAS guests sneaking into the priority boarding by holding matching boarding numbers as the CAS guests. Conveniently the CAS waiting area was more or less a cattle shoot to the boarding walkway (boarding was onto deck 7 aft).
  • Dining reservations are NOT at their normal location next to the guest services desk as you board. They are taken at Headliners instead only while in port on Day 1.
  • For those who are airplane nerds, stay up on deck after the Verrazano Bridge; you will sail under the JFK landing pattern, and it should be during the heavy afternoon arrivals of European flights and will yield some spectacular views of wide-body aircraft.

 

Cabin:

  • With the door closed interior rooms are nearly pitch-black which is amazing. However, the downside is the LEDs on the HVAC controls and TV power light shine that much brighter because of this. Bring some tape to cover them up if you want absolute darkness.
  • It seems like a terrible design flaw but some interior rooms with a central corridor will have a pole right in front of the door making entering and exiting tricky for some. Here’s an example It looks limited to aft interior rooms with a central corridor on decks 12-14. The rooms I noticed it on were, 14627, 14623, 14619, 14515, 13653, 13649, 13645, 13641, 12657, and 12653. Someone else can confirm if other rooms share this characteristic as well.
  • The cabin’s mini-bar does not get very cold even when at the coldest setting (in our experience, the yogurt we were storing had spoiled). Ironically though because the mini-bar is in an enclosed space the area around it gets quite warm so be careful not to put heat sensitive objects near the venting area under the desk.
  • If you request that the cabin steward empty the mini-bar, they will empty the contents into the ottoman/seat. So be aware if you have items in there before they empty the mini-bar.
  • There is no way to disable the HVAC fan/blower, so even when the room is at temperature and no heating/AC is running, the fan will blow.
  • The ship’s TV system is actually fairly responsive for being IPTV. Booking entertainment/checking account all worked more or less; however, it was not possible to make reservations at any of the main dining rooms, and you could not see any of the MDR's daily menus.
  • The limited TV listings on board are (many were SD channels upconverted/recompressed into HD):

    9 TV Guide

    10 Safety Info

    11 Activities and Information

    12 The Rockettes Channel

    13 Activities and Information

    14 Onboard Offerings

    15 Shore Excursions/Cruise Rewards

    16 Port Shopping Channel

    17 Nickelodeon

    21 Navigation Information

    22 Bow Camera (A View From the Bridge)

    23 BBC World

    24 CNBC

    25 MSNBC

    26 Fox News

    27 ESPN (ESPN Bahamas feed)

    28 Engage Network

    29 Favorite Shows

    30 Favorite Movies

    31 Window Channel/Special Feed

    38 Fox News CC


  • Check your cabin TV as it may still list who was in your room previously (it does reset itself eventually)
  • The TV is “locked” to a single input “HDMI 1” which is the ship’s closed circuit system. If you’re inclined to bring your own entertainment and want to use one of the other inputs you’ll need to disable “Hotel Mode” and use the buttons recessed along the upper right edge. Also, while it seems impossible to access the input jacks when mounted, it is quite easy to unmount the TV (simply slide it up 1/2” and it’ll lift off its mount). Obviously be careful and make sure you restore everything when you’re done for the next guest.
  • They never updated the Navigation channel- it tracked our updated route but kept thinking we were going to Great Stirrup Cay
  • There are a few spelling mistakes littered throughout the NCL provided programing

 

Around the Ship:

  • In addition to being the “Jersey Week” cruise it was also the “Wicked Fan Cruise” - they camped down in Fat Cats for most of their programing. But otherwise there was no mention of them in the Daily or by other guests. We did overhear their programing one day and sad to say their singers were much stronger than some of the ship’s regular entertainers.
  • As others have mentioned, this was a VERY full cruise for jersey week, ~4,700 passengers and ~1,100 kids. We only noticed this during meal times and showtimes but even then it wasn’t unbearable. In fact, on numerous occasions, we were able to have the mid-ship pool/hot tub all to ourselves (albeit later in the evening).
  • Speaking of kids, the enforcement of height/age restrictions devolved by the end of the cruise. Kids were left unattended in (adult-only) hot tubs, and for the rock wall and ropes courses many kids weren’t being checked for height.
  • I’m not sure if it's because the ship was so full, but we were only provided a single Daily for the two of us each evening. When we requested additional copies at guest services, they were xerox copies.
  • This fact is obvious on the ship maps, but it's worth pointing out how easy it is to determine if you’re in the forward staircase or aft staircase (generally the signs by the elevators should be right - but we noticed them incorrectly labeled on deck 9 aft) -- if the staircases are “together” you’re forward. If there’s a split between the two sets of stairs you’re aft.
  • The ship is already showing some wear and tear which is unfortunate for a ship under 6 months old.

 

Guest Areas and Entertainment:

  • At O’Sheehans, darts are $1 per person per game and there are two machines. The machine is a Galaxy III - with many game options; however, the soft-tip darts are in terrible condition so bring your own if you’re so inclined.
  • You can find “awards” given to the ship and the crew on deck 8 aft, near the Cagney’s entrance. It's interesting to see how some ports spent a lot of time and resources on these plaques, while others basically tasked it out to an intern (CPB I’m looking at you).
  • You can find the “certificates” verifying the ship’s seaworthiness on deck 6 forward, near the Spiegel Tent entrance. Disturbingly the ship may have missed its periodic inspection (that, or they just haven’t updated the certificate yet…)
  • The card room and library both are mini-Rockette museums with photographs, costumes and a timeline of the entertainers.
  • The card room had “fresh” supply of games: Monopoly, Chess, Checkers, Chinese Chess, Dominos, puzzles, and cards. Interestingly the cards were discarded casino decks. I’m curious if they refresh the games with each sailing as they were in unusually good condition and seemingly not missing pieces.
  • They offered a self-led shabbat service on Friday evening in the card room, that included “free” sacramental wine.
  • We won trivia twice - prizes were a water bottle and a mini-flashlight, basically throwaways. Afternoon trivia is much better attended than morning. However, at each trivia event we found it very odd that NCL-provided pens were treated like gold. Each trivia host repeatedly insisted that pens be returned at the end of the event.
  • When attending busy events in the atrium, it seems the solution to the space issues others have noted is to grab any loose chair available on the ship and use it. They also closed down the walkway from the forward elevators to the atrium and required guests to walk through O’Sheehans instead while programing was taking place.
  • They were not enforcing refusing admission after shows started for “Burn the Floor” or “Rock of Ages”. We sat at the rear both times and there was a constant flow of traffic in and out, so be aware that there maybe loud distractions if you sit near the rear.
  • There’s a small but navigable space between the theater walls and the seats so If you’re skinny, it's easy to shimmy down the far left or right side of the Breakaway Theater (which is nice, as people often left these seats open).
  • There are some terrible sight lines in Headliners - there are poles blocking some of the views from the back and sides so arrive early to sit in front of the poles.
  • For duty-free alcohol, there were two free tastings onboard - you could sample as much as you want of Grey Goose, Johnnie Walker Double Black, Amarula, Sheridan’s and Bacardi. The samples were small (less than 1/2 oz), and you needed to go through the (very long and slow) pouring line each time to get another sample. Also, here’s the duty free booze list - a few exclusives and fair (not amazing) values.

 

On Deck Activities

  • When facing the climbing wall, the most difficult course is the blue one in the middle, the easiest course is to the far left and the moderate challenge is to the far right.
  • Shuffleboard is found on deck 7 forward (port and starboard). The surface is in fantastic condition (except when wet), the equipment is a little dodgy (with bent cues), and the game seemed like an afterthought as there are some 2”x4”s used to “block” pucks from going astray. Deck 7 seems to be the major thoroughfare for crew to walk forward/aft without invading guest areas so don't be surprised if one of them comments on your shot.
  • Even though there is a strict no-cameras/phones rule on the ropes course, they had no problem with a GoPro strapped to your head/wrist.
  • The ropes course at sunset is oddly magical; it's the highest point of the ship accessible by guests, the view is absolutely beautiful from the zip line and the plank.
  • Check your harness on the ropes course - it may have been a fluke, but rather than a serialized sling line I got one of the ‘training’ sling lines.
  • Even though the ropes course may be open, they will shut down the zip line if there is a lot of ship movement to keep people from “getting stuck”.
  • They are VERY vigilant about no jewelry on the water slides - this includes wedding bands, and other body piercings (even non-exposed ones like a tragus).
  • They drain the salt water pool at the end of each cruise. It's interesting they don’t have a pool cover but rather just a “net” to keep people out.
  • Even with our over 100% capacity sailing, we easily found the pool/hot tub to ourselves in the evenings. Granted, it was a bit chilly at times, but it wasn’t unusual to see the mid deck areas virtually abandoned around 7pm-8pm and again around 10pm-12am.
  • Fireworks are off the port aft side. They are visible from the rear of deck 8 even with the overhang, however they are more to the port side than they are to aft.
  • There are 2 pairs (4 total) binoculars along the waterfront; they are free and work surprisingly well.
  • They seem to have fixed the mislabeled NYC map in Spice H20 - their solution was painting a line from the caption “Manhattan” which was over NJ, to the island itself.
  • You can touch part of the Peter Max artwork on Deck 7; it surprisingly doesn’t appear to be painted on, but is rather a “sticker”.

 

Port Canaveral:

  • Even though we arrived at ~11am, it wasn’t until about 12:15ish that we were allowed to disembark. Just a guess why it takes so much longer in Port Canaveral compared to Nassau - in Port Canaveral it takes 4 people to handle the ropes - whereas in Nassau it takes one.
  • You start getting cell phone service about 30 minutes before you enter the Port Canaveral channel - so about 10am for our cruise.
  • We disembarked on Deck 6 aft. There are crudely made signs (some laminated sheets of paper, taped up around the ship) directing you if you don’t have an excursion booked.
  • We rented a car from Thrifty/Dollar (both use shared facilities); a free shuttle waits for passengers after they exit the terminal, cross the street, and veer left. The rental office is 4 miles from the terminal.
  • If you drive from Port Canaveral to Disney give yourself ~1h15m (the speed limit is 70 for most of the way, but there are plenty of cops) each way. Also bring change/cash as there are 4 tolls if you take 528 and it’ll cost you $4.50 each way.
  • Talking to the rental car agents, all the agencies have cabs waiting in their parking lots when a ship is in port, so don’t worry too much about returning your car after hours and finding a way back to the ship. Our cab ride was $15 with the meter running (take into account when you tip, most cabs in Port Canaveral now have to pay a fee with each port terminal entry (in addition to a yearly fee) - that just started this year).
  • For reference we exited the boat by 12:30pm, were on the road with our rental car by 12:50pm and on Disney property by 2pm. Driving back we left Disney at 6pm, were at the rental agency by 7pm, and back on the boat by 7:15pm. It's probably not worth going to Disney parks for most people, but we recommend people spending some time at Downtown Disney or DisneyQuest to get your Disney fix.
  • The security/x-ray arrangement in the cruise terminal was just like the set-up in NY. We didn’t see any NCL employees in the area - so for those of you who are so inclined, this may be your best opportunity to bring your own adult beverages on board without getting stopped.

 

Nassau:

  • We disembarked on Deck 4, which means we had to use the forward elevators/staircase to get there. To avoid getting stuck trying to get an elevator down to the gangway, we recommend taking the aft stairs/elevators to deck 5, walking to the forward stairs, and then walking down just one flight to deck 4 (the reverse is true when getting back onto the boat).
  • If they skip GSC (Great Stirrup Cay) as they seem to be doing regularly (3 out of 4 cruises at the time of this writing), evenings in Nassau can be nice if you’re smart or adventurous. We spent the evening walking to Fort Charlotte to chase the sunset (they close at 5, but the grounds are still open). Nearby there’s a cricket club where you can watch some kids practice, the Fish Fry is open and there are lots of locals out, and no one seems to mind if you collect coconuts from trees in the public area to crack open yourself - all within a 15 minute walk from the ship. Full disclosure - travel smart, don’t look like an easy target - but honestly Nassau at night seemed no more dangerous than Bangkok or Naples at night.
  • The passport office is also open late (it may even be 24 hours, someone else will need to confirm) at the port if you want your passport stamped. (For those of you who have never been, stand with your back to the boats and it is the building to the left of the port terminal. There is armed military guarding the driveway, but they’re very kind if you tell them you’re just seeking a passport stamp).
  • John Watlings Distillery is open until 6 so that’s an option as well - we went the next day and were pleasantly surprised at their facilities, which consisted of a nice self-guided tour and free samples of their rums. They have a number of interesting artifacts about the building but you can spend as little as 15min there and see everything.
  • On our full day, in addition to John Watlings, we booked a cigar rolling class at the Graycliff. We can’t recommend this enough for cigar fans - the experience consists of taking a quick tour of the cigar aging and storage facilities, rolling two cigars after watching the torcedor roll one, and then keeping all three. It tastes like the blend we rolled was Grand Gru, and the sizes were more or less a 56 gauge 6” Pyramid. Retail on these is about $17 each, so at $75 it's not a terrible deal considering you get to roll them yourself. Although the website says you get a cutter, they are only currently providing lighters. The staff is incredibly friendly (my limited spanish made them smile) and it's a nice way to spend 45 mins.
  • There is still free wifi at the McDonalds across from the British Colonial Hilton; nobody seemed to mind that we didn’t order anything.
  • We brought our own gear to snorkel on GSC so were looking for a place near Nassau. Based on some recommendations we made the trek out to Love Beach. Its an easy ride on the #12 Jitney (which picks up in front of the McDonalds). It's about an hour ride out (it goes past the airport), but only about 30 mins coming back. Price is $2, just tell the driver where you’re going, and don’t forget to say “Good Morning/Afternoon” when getting onto the bus. The beach is absolutely beautiful, and we had it to ourselves for an hour. Although it's technically private, no one bothered us. Unfortunately, the water was quite rough so snorkeling wasn’t the best, but even still we saw some fish off the reef and we could see how this could be a great alternative to Cable or Cabbage beach without the crowds. We accessed the beach without any issues from the Nirvana beachclub (look for the purple roadside sign).
  • Unlike Port Canaveral or NY, x-ray/security team at Nassau was in full force as you boarded. They stopped me with an empty rum bottle and a six-pack of Goombay Punch; however, after a short explanation, we were allowed to keep them.

 

Casino:

  • We were surprised by the number of patrons waiting in front of machines during sail away; it took until ~5:30pm (about 2h30m after departing) for the machines to go online and gambling was allowed to begin.
  • There is a table game and a slot machine finder on the interactive touch screens found by every set of stairs/elevator banks, letting you find a machine by name/denomination if you’re into slots.
  • In addition to the expected slots and tables there were also two coin pushers and two carnival games. You do not earn CAS credit on these machines.
  • The coin pusher has a bonus that’s not obvious and I saw some people playing that didn’t realize the bonus was active. The details on the pusher can be found at the manufacture’s site - http://www.vdw-int.com/product-bjk-uk.html - in addition to the quarters/tokens, you could also win “chips worth a bottle of champagne” and some clips of cash between $25-$50.
  • The carnival game is a Sega Keymaster. Where in addition to the usual prizes (headsets/tablets) they had bundles of cash ($50-$100) clipped to elevated CAS tiers “Hot” and “Golden.” If you’re inclined to play, remember this is a game of chance disguised as a game of skill.
  • If you have a drinks card you can get alcoholic AND nonalcoholic drinks at the bar.
  • If you are a credit player, they do require you to reconcile any markers at the end of the cruise unlike most land casinos where they give you 28 days or more - and it is a long process requiring two cage attendants to verify each other's actions.
  • For craps players, they do not rate odds, only the flat bet. When betting at $30 a roll (3 numbers, @ $10 each with full odds) points seemed to accumulate at 50 points an hour. There are two craps tables, they are short (about 8 feet), and extremely bouncy. It's not unusual during slow times to see them only have half a table open with one dealer and one stickman.
  • For baccarat players, they offer $25 minimum/$2000 maximum, the table is in the “VIP”/High Roller area. You may need to ask for it if you don’t see it as they use reversible table tops to switch between high-limit BJ and bacc. You will need to manually track hands yourself, they do not have an automated tracking screen. They do not let players squeeze/handle the cards so it's basically “mini-bacc.” You are allowed unlimited free hands within reason. Lastly, for bacc players they take commission IMMEDIATELY on winning bets INCLUDING ON DEALER TIPs.
  • There is food in the casino and it's available not just for players (although I’m sure they would prefer CAS players only accessed it). It's just a wall of self-service hot dogs/sandwiches/coffee/pastries situated along the aft wall on the port side and in the VIP/High Roller area on the starboard side.
  • Bar 21 (the casino bar) does offer free nonalcoholic (soda or virgin/mocktails) drinks to drinks card holders. They will also offer canned soda in these circumstances and don’t pour soda out of the gun. Bar 21 also “shares” items with Bliss so if there’s something you saw at Bliss, you can get it at Bar 21 with the drinks card.
  • The “house” scotch on the drinks card is Cutty Shark. The “house” bourbon is Jim Beam. The “house” rum is Bacardi or Myers.

 

Food & Drink:

  • We only did one premium meal, the Zakarian Chef Table - and were pleasantly surprised by the food in the main dining rooms and buffet. It was more than sufficient (although I was personally amused by those saying they preferred the food at Savor over Taste as aren’t they a single shared galley?)
  • If you go to the buffet for prime rib or lobster night they will open a bit earlier than scheduled - but be warned you will not be the only one hovering like a vulture for food.
  • Though the buffet was definitely crowded, we never had a problem finding seating for two; however, four-tops and rounds were closely guarded with a few near fights breaking out. My recommendation larger group: take your plate and find a space outside of the buffet or one deck up by Uptown Bar.
  • There are automated revolving doors leading from the buffet to the pool deck - however, we never saw them functioning. They were always left open to allow a free flow of traffic - perhaps a poor design decision.
  • Late night “snacks” on the buffet seemed to close frequently before the 11:30pm closing time - so plan accordingly (and when that happened, room service would usually have an hour+ wait).
  • The Ice Bar is actually quite a small space but it never seemed overly busy. We walked up with no reservation while other bars were packed.
  • The gloves provided for the ice bar are a bit small, they stretch, but then your skin gets exposed in between the knitting so be aware if you touch things in the ice bar (your hands may stick).
  • All drinks are premixed and poured from the speedrail - they won’t pour you shots of vodka or ice wine by itself.
  • The Ice Bar uses cone cups, the cups are then placed in plastic cups so you can hold them. As you leave, you can just pour the drink from the ice cup into the plastic cup to take it with you.
  • Supposedly most folks “average” 11 minutes in the ice bar.
  • There are 3 hot dog carts on board, they do rotate around, but generally can be found on the pool deck or Waterfront between 12-3. They do wheel one down to the atrium during football games (and probably other sporting events). The buns are not steamed, but otherwise are just like the street meat (right down to the onions in hot sauce).
  • If you tell your PCC (Personal Cruise Consultant) that you’re celebrating something s/he will provide a certificate to take to a dining room for a free cake - although it says to provide it to the Maitre’D you actually should provide it to the server.
  • The cake however, is nothing to write home about.
  • We recommend using it in the Manhattan Room, particularly if there’s live music on the day of your celebration. They will announce various celebrations, and I was able to tip them to perform a particular request for our anniversary announcement. Although they did place tables on half the dance floor, it was very sweet - there were many couples who danced on the half dance floor as their celebrations were announced.

 

Zakarian:

  • Menu
  • We’re big fans of tasting menus, and so we signed up for the Geoffrey Zakarian chef table immediately when we boarded, and heard it booked up (even at $130 a head) by the end of day 1.
  • There were 4 seatings for 10 people/seating, 6:30 and 8:30 on Day 5 and Day 6.
  • We received an unsigned invitation in our stateroom the day of.
  • It appeared Mr. Zakarian boarded in Nassau, so he is not present for the entirety of the cruise.
  • It's worth noting the experience takes place in the “rear” section of Ocean Blue, where the staff basically create a single table and leave the booth seating pushed against the walls. So this dining experience will take away from “regular” Ocean Blue availability.
  • We were part of the second seating on Day 5, and when we arrived at 8:15, Mr. Zakarian was sitting with the ship’s officers having wine, while the first seating was starting dessert.
  • The restaurant staff was a bit disorganized as the diners in our group gathered and waited in the open area of 6-7-8 (taking in the casino smoke); we began with a glass of Louis Roeder Brut champagne and then passed hors d'oeuvres.
  • The first passed hors d’oeurvre was a Tuna Crudo at around 8:45pm. There were two passes of this item. Because we were standing in the public area of 6-7-8 some very bold guests who were not part of the chef table grabbed some. So if you don’t get a reservation it may be a chance to score some “free” Ocean Blue food if you time it right.
  • As the first seating was still finishing up by 9pm a second hors d’oeurvre of Salmon Tartere was passed, as well as a refill of the champagne. This was really odd, as it was a plated dish and they handed out forks. Navigating a glass, the plate and a fork was an interesting endeavor and leads me to believe this dish wasn’t planned but was just a stalling tactic.
  • As we ate this second hors d’oeurvre, the ship’s officers exited and Mr. Zakarian came over to greet us, and he was intoxicated (but, to his credit, he played it well). He made small talk by “apologizing” for not stopping in GSC, bragging about his visit to the bridge, and talking about the ice bar.
  • We finally got seated at 9:10. The table was set with named place cards (funny thing is these were NCL stationary turned inside out to hide the logo and held together with scotch tape), and the guests were seated with couples facing each other, alternating male/female along each side. There were signed menus and bread at the table.
  • Another pour of champagne and Mr. Zakarian came over once again for small talk - repeating exactly the same items from before (GSC, bridge, ice bar…) and the first dish was introduced by him and he departed while we dove in...
  • The first seated dish was a Fluke Crudo
  • After the first dish, Mr. Zakarian was joined by a photographer to take a group picture - it was a bit odd as half the table had to get up and join the opposite side even though they had been eating.
  • For the second dish Mr. Zakarian introduced the Jonah Crab Risotto. This was served with a glass of De Aureo Spirito Sauv Blanc
  • As the dish finished up Mr. Zakarian came over again and allowed us to ask questions. In his slightly intoxicated state he was very revealing about the arrangement between NCL and himself - it is just a licensing deal for his name and menu consulting. Which in hind-sight explains a lot, such as the exec chef Erika Suarez actually came from NCL (she was on board Pride of America) and no staff actually came from Mr. Zakarian’s organization; they only “trained” with him.
  • The third dish of Monkfish was introduced by both Ms. Suarez and Mr. Zakarian together. The wine was a 2011 Stag’s Leap Viognier.
  • At this point Mr. Zakarian disappeared not to be seen again without a formal goodbye - the fourth dish was introduced only by Ms. Suarez as scallops and pork belly paired with a Castello Del Poggio Barbera D'Asti.
  • As that was cleared, coffee and petit fours were presented (one set of petit fours per couple) and glasses of Remy VSOP Congac were poured for those who were interested.
  • Ms. Suarez then presented the flourless chocolate cake and ice cream - and beamed about this creation being from her kitchen and not a separate pastry team. She thanked us for joining her.
  • And that was that, it was over by 10:45. Some of us stayed to chat as they cleared the table around us. When we tried to leave, taking our drinks with us, we were asked to pour our drinks into plastic cups to prevent the crystal ware (unique to Ocean Blue) from “walking” - but to their credit it was done very tactfully.
  • Service itself during the meal was impeccable and classic with a serving staff of over 14; each dish was delivered synchronized to the women first, then the men. They cleared and reset the silverware with each course, and glasses were never empty.
  • It was a very strange experience overall - two couples weren’t big seafood fans - yet they booked the meal knowing it was a seafood experience. One in fact came in a t-shirt so the dress code didn’t seem to be enforced. Besides being intoxicated, Mr. Zakarian seemed disconnected from the meal; in fact Ms. Suarez was more responsive and knowledgeable in explaining each dish she was present for. As well as the items mentioned previously (the plated hors d’oeurvre being passed, passed hors d’oeurvre being taken by those outside of the group, etc.)
  • Is it worth $130? If you’re a big wine drinker, you can probably make it worth it (although the wine selections/pairings weren’t particularly well done in our opinion, and certainly they’re not high-end bottles by any mark). When envisioning this experience, don’t expect to have quality time with Mr. Zakarian, and don’t expect a unique menu as all items are available a la carte from Ocean Blue’s standard menu. Then again, $130 isn’t a fortune compared to tasting menus at Guy Savoy, Tour D’Argent, Victoria & Albert's, El Bulli, etc - so it may be worth doing it if you’re a food nerd just looking to add items to your bucket list.
  • The next day in our stateroom was the picture taken by the photographer and a signed thank you note.
  • In addition to chef table there is a book signing and cooking demo on the ship. We attended the cooking demo in the Breakaway Theater, and it was about 60 mins long. A recipe card was handed out as you entered - and everything on it was basically prepared by Mr. Zakarian.
  • Mr. Zakarian was definitely more sober and talkative to the larger audience, but it was still a bit of a quirky event, so maybe there is just something off about his personality. For example he randomly boiled a lobster - but then never took it out of the pot or prepared a lobster dish. He broke a dish while plating his risotto, and would sometimes contradict what was printed on the recipe card with his verbal directions (such as recommending slicing tuna ahead of time, while the recipe card states never do such a thing). Lastly he was quite snarky with his responses to the audience.

 

Conclusion:

  • To state the obvious, the weather has a much bigger impact on a cruise vacation. We were definitely disappointed to miss GSC, and to have dicey water for snorkeling at Nassau. However, just the same, the weather helped keep people away from the outside decks so we were easily able to find private areas alone (be it at Spice H20, along the Waterfront, shuffleboard, or even by the pool at the right time).
  • We were surprised by how civil most people were, considering how hard they push the bars and alcohol.
  • There’s definitely a little bit of an entitled-northeastern attitude to many of the guests (ourselves included), but for the most part people kept to themselves.
  • Service was hit or miss. When it was good it was great, when it was bad it was forgettable - but certainly nothing offensive. We know the typhoon affected some of the crew from the Philippines and when asked about their loved-ones who may have been effected, some were very appreciative, others brushed it off.
  • The food was okay (nothing was standout amazing, but other than the infamous powdered eggs at breakfast, nothing was terrible).
  • We were also surprised at how few public announcements were made on the ship - few aboard knew about the incidents in Port Canaveral, and even the GSC cancellation seemed to be handled very quietly.
  • It seemed on our cruise we kept bumping into things just felt a little bit “rough around the edges” - from the pens at trivia, to the 2”x4” used at shuffleboard, the pole blocking some cabin entrances, the xerox daily copies, the missed Coast Guard periodic inspection, etc - I’m not sure if its because of the size/capacity of the ship, the fact that its still relatively new, or just the penny pinching by NCL (or we’re just too nit-picky). There was nothing egregious, and our cruise wasn’t overall negatively impacted, but it just lacked a certain “polish” that would make considering/recommending another NCL cruise a no-brainer.
  • Overall, this was not the most memorable experience we’ve had - but one we’re glad we did and it was a great value based on what we paid. Now it's something we can cross off our list as something to “try” but we’ll likely not rush to do again.

 

Link Summary:

" few aboard knew about the incidents in Port Canaveral". Can you specified what incidents we had in FL.

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

Posted
Posted (edited)
" few aboard knew about the incidents in Port Canaveral". Can you specified what incidents we had in FL.

 

November 5

Norwegian Breakaway

Norwegian Cruise Line

 

News 13 (Port Canaveral) reports Fire Rescue is responding to two injuries on board the ship, which docked Tuesday at Port Canaveral. Officials at the port said a crewmember on board the ship was hurt after something fell and hit him on the head. Brevard Fire Rescue said the man had a reported neck injury.

 

In a separate incident, a passenger on the ship, said to be a woman in her 70s, slipped and fell, suffering a fracture. The woman was said to be in stable condition, fire officials said.

 

Source:

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html

Edited by ibcnusoon
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Tyskie

Tyskie

Posted
Posted

Thank you for a very well thought out review & observations. Especially enjoyed the Zakarian tasting "saga". We've been to several and the Executive Chef takes great pride in presenting their menu and dishes.

 

Sent from my XT907 using Forums mobile app

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  • 2 weeks later...
Breakaway11032013

Breakaway11032013

Posted
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Although NYC is the market for the massive ships would you consider sailing on one of NCL's (relatively) smaller/older ships where you might find a more "personalized" experience. As to the pens at trivia, all I ever remember getting was a dull golf pencil so there wasn't really any glamour to keeping one as a souvenir.:rolleyes:

 

It wasn't so much the lack of a "personalized" experience as it was just "unpolished" that would probably prevent us from sailing with NCL again. As for the pens, that's what made it so odd - its just a standard Bic Stick, why was it such a big deal that they repeatedly asked for them to be returned.

 

The certificate is up to date and is endorsed for the periodic exam at 6 months. The inspector did not fill in the next periodic exam date because the certificate itself expires at that time and that triggers a different exam.

 

If you had reached out to the ship’s staff, you would have been reassured that the certificate is not only in date, but also that the rigorous vessel examination was conducted ahead of schedule with no finding or deficiencies from the US Coast Guard.

 

Thanks for the reassurance, checking the CG website it does look like the periodic exam did take place on Nov 4 in Port Canaveral. However, now I'm curious now about the Ropes Course tether that was labeled "for training..."

 

We've been to several and the Executive Chef takes great pride in presenting their menu and dishes.

 

I think that's part of the irony of all this Geoffrey Zakarian doesn't serve in an exec chef capacity for Ocean Blue.

 

Also here are just a handful of other answers to some questions I've received as PMs;

  • for baccarat they appeared to rate by the # of shoes played rather than time played. For two shoes at a bet spread of $100-$500 I ended up with 300 points.
  • for baccarat they round UP on commission - they will pay out to the quarter (for example on a dollar tip if it wins the dealer collects $1.75, and pays a $.25 comission). Be aware NCL uses NCL tokens/slugs instead of quarters so you'll need to cash these out as well.
  • for everyone else who sailed on this cruise at disembarkation the ship docked next to us was the USS New York LPD-21 - of course no one onboard knew, but a police officer directing traffic informed us
  • we didn't get vintages on all the wines during the chef table but what we did get was; 2011 Stag’s Leap Viognier, 2012 Castello Del Poggio Barbera D'Asti,

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