MITSUGIRLY BREAKAWAY's 1 last time for the year-review/pictorial

[mickev99]

Kim, your best choice for a sweet wine, of the wine selections you showed, would have been the Moscato.

 

Great review! Thanks.

 

I agree. I drink red, but I can't believe that the waiter wouldn't automatically suggest the Moscato when you you said you wanted something sweet. It is a dessert wine and is sickeningly sweet.

[Debala715]

Kim, your best choice for a sweet wine, of the wine selections you showed, would have been the Moscato.

 

Great review! Thanks.

 

 

I was going to say the same thing. The other choice would have been Reisling, which is also a sweet white, though not as sweet as Moscato.

 

 

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[KPfromCT]

Still LOVING the review!!!

It just keeps getting better and better.:D:D

Is Sakari just fascinated with birds, or does she go through phases with her drawings? lol

She is great, for her age!!!!

Can't wait for more...

[TraJon9]

Snorkel park looked a ton better then I expected. The pictures are all fantastic and I love that you caught the sneaky octopus..

 

Sakari! Her on the rock climbing! Rockstar! Seriously..

 

I have a opinion question.. Which are your favorite NCL ships and your least favorites.. I know they all have their good and bad, but..

 

I don't think you have been on the Gem, we are scheduled on her for the repositioning cruise to San Juan next October.. And it should be interesting to see her after drydock.. Epics was crazy intense how much they did..

 

So if you had to pick top 3, bottom 3..

[SquishTheWhale]

I decided I wanted to head down to the Latitudes desk and check out this new booking while on a cruise thing called Cruise Next. We always buy a future cruise certificate. It's just such a great deal and too good to pass up. I love free money.

 

 

Hi Kim,

 

I've read all your reviews but don't think I've ever commented before (sorry about that!). I was very grateful for your info about cruise next and cruise next ultimate- we are going on our first cruise in Jan and if we like it I'm hoping to use this scheme to book our next one!

 

I see that you can pick additional perks for balcony cabins and above- I was wondering if you know, does that mean that there's no advantage in using cruise next ultimate (over cruise next) if you're going to book an inside? I find the whole scheme confusing to be honest!

 

Also your little girl is just the cutest- and I think she shows some real talent with her drawings!

[zoiebear]

First of all I love reading your reviews and seeing your pictures! I am getting ready to do my first NCL cruise on the Jade in January - cant wait!!

 

So, I am wondering what kind (brand) of snorkel gear you use...? I have decided to buy my own instead of renting them...seems to be a lot out there to choose from!

 

Thanks, and cant wait to read more!

[JKSWonder]

Great review with terrific pictures.

 

Sakari is such a brave little thing! I wish my kids had even just an ounce of her daring. My son is outgoing, but cautious. And my daughter is so shy she barely speaks. I have to cajole everyone into trying new stuff and dancing with me once in a while. Sakari's got one thing in common with my daughter though - the drawing. We can't go anywhere without sketchpads and pencils because Allison draws constantly.

 

I've been reading all your review for research since we've never sailed NCL before and our first cruise on the Getaway is coming up in April. So far I have flights booked to FLL, Hyatt Place at FLL, the MGS transportation to and from the port. Little French Key and Nachi Cocum. Still not sure about Belize, mostly because Harvest Caye construction finishing is still up in the air.

[Pappion]

Since this is my first time cruising as Platinum, I'm not too familiar with how everything works and what all you get. But I did know that you get a free dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant.

 

So, we had booked with La Cucina for 7:30pm. After eating that huge cheeseburger, fries and a salad, there was no way that we were going to be hungry now. We stopped by to ask if we could post-pone our reservation. No problem! So we made it for 9:45pm hoping that we would be hungry by then.

 

Now we did try throughout the week to get into Second City for a show, but they were always booked up for when we wanted to go. We couldn't go during the adult shows because the kids club closed at 10:30pm, unless you wanted to pay for sitting.

 

So tonight was the night that we managed to get in to Second City, but only because we booked on Wednesday.

 

Our show was at 7pm and we all went back to the room to get dressed up. We sent the kids off to the kids club and away we went for the show.

 

It was an improv show. It was pretty funny and the kids enjoyed it. Every time I looked over at the boys, they were laughing.

 

After the show, we headed to the casino to donate our money for the evening...and donate we did.

 

Then we were off to our dinner at La Cucina at 9:30pm. We still really wasn't very hungry, but figured we'd just get something small.

 

 

 

 

We seen they had pizza on the menu and decided that would probably be the quickest to get and the least amount and most of all, we could share it.

 

 

We ordered the Salsiccia pizza and told them that we would like to be done by 10:30pm so that we could pick up our daughter from the kids club.

 

Now we are not really wine drinkers. I wish I could find a wine that I liked. I hate beer. I hate anything that has a bitter taste to it. However, we did get 1 free bottle of wine with our Platinum dinner. So, I was bound and determined to find something that I could drink. Now since we aren't wine drinkers, we have no idea what to order. I ask our waiter to make a suggestion. I told him I wanted the sweetest wine he had. He came out with something and as I looked at it on the menu, it did not sound appealing to me. I ask about the Rosemont, which said it had a touch of sweetness to it. The word "sweetness" caught my eye and I ask him about it. I basically wanted to know if it was "SWEETER" tasting than what he had brought us and he said "yes". Um...ok. So I ask for the sweetest wine you have because I don't like bitter and he didn't bring me the sweetest wine? I'm confused.

 

 

 

 

So that's what we ended up ordering and he brought it out. Remember again, we don't drink wine, but I do watch movies. He opens the bottle and pours some in a glass and hands it to me. Oh gosh, this is the part I have seen in the movies where I have to taste it, give him a reply, then he pours more in it and proceeds to the next glass. Sigh. I try it, I'm sure my eyes squinted, eyebrows up and a weird look on my face. Ewww! Yuck! Just like any other wine I have tasted in the past...bitter, bitter, bitter. Sigh. I'm never going to find a wine I like.

 

I nod my head as if "Ok, it will have to do" and he pours some for the hubby. He said, "hmm, pretty good" and the waiter finally walked away. Had I still had the wine in my mouth, I think I would have spit it out in my water cup. The hubby said it was pretty good and he could taste the peaches in it. But then again, he can drink beer with no problem.

 

 

I wasn't a wine person until recently, and I still prefer sweet wines. For your next trip, get a moscato. They are always sweeter wines!

[Pappion]

Oops. Didn't read all the other comments, but I still say go with moscato. :p

 

Love your review as usual. Still disappointed you aren't beating me to the Escape.

 

Good luck with classes. I'm postponing my RN to BSN for a little while to take a break.

[bonvoyagie]

My wife only drinks White Zinfandel because it is sweet. I like most all wines - but then again I also like beer.:D

 

I also thought your choice of pizza was good - was it??

[bearette]

I don't drink beer and only sweet wine. My drink of choice is a dirty banana or pina colada so I third or fourth the moscato when you order wine. A lot taste like juice- no joke. Riesling, champagne or white zinfandal, but ask for a sweet one as some can be dry, are your second choices for sweet wine.

[zoiebear]

I would go for the Moscato as well... I too do not care for wine, but always wished that I did like it.. Well I finally found Moscato which I really really like - sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet, not bitter at all.. :D

[CAC104]

I always drink Merlot or a blended wine called Apothic. After reading all of your recommendations, I am going to go out and get a bottle of Moscato to give it a try.:)

[matondo]

I always drink Merlot or a blended wine called Apothic. After reading all of your recommendations, I am going to go out and get a bottle of Moscato to give it a try.:)

 

Watch out Moscato can be really sweet but it is delicious. I recently discovered a delicious red, Malbec from Argentina!

 

Anxiously awaiting the next installment but I have a feeling it may not be until the weekend.

[perfect match]

Kim, I'm thinking that life has gotten pretty busy for you all of a sudden. No worries! Do what you have to do, we will be here when you get back. :D

 

Hope school is going well for you, even if it is keeping you busy.

[mabones]

I agree. Malbec from Argentina is delicious. Another sweet red is called Sweet Red Roo made by Yellow Tail which is from Austrailia. Sweet whites are Moscato & Riesling. Sweet sparkling wine is Prosecco.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I bought a bottle of Moscato yesterday as I'll be getting a couple of bottles on my Epic cruise so want to get something I might like.

 

Mitsugirly has a lot going on with starting school so we'll just have to wait 'til she has some free time. We know she's worth the wait!;)

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[SuiteTraveler]

I'm not sure how much wine education NCL waiters/waitresses get. Pair that with a religion that doesn't allow its followers to drink alcohol and it may be nearly impossible for some servers to actually have any idea as to what kind of wine to recommend.

 

Moscato is technically a dessert wine and pairs best with fruit and cheese. Sometimes it can be paired with charcuterie IF there are sweet components such as figs or dried fruit present. Sometimes it is served with brunch, especially if you are serving something sweet such as French Toast or lemon muffins.

http://wine.about.com/od/whitewines/g/Moscato.htm

 

Moscato is actually made of Muscat grapes - there are 200 varieties of these. Some Moscato is made to be completely dry. So you may have a big surprise if you order Moscato without knowing about the specific wine you are ordering. Moscato d'Asti is a sparkling wine. A bitter aftertaste is fairly common with Moscato wines. You can generally determine if it will have the bitter aftertaste by the color of the Moscato. The paler the color the less bitter the aftertaste as this indicates less grape skins were used in production, yielding a thinner wine. At any rate, I would not recommend having Moscato with most dinner entrees as it would not be very compatible. The wine is supposed to enhance the flavor of the food, not take away from it. The Lindeman's Bin 90 Moscato is definitely a dessert wine. I don't know why NCL would put that Moscato on the list under white wines - very incorrect to anyone knowledgeable about wine but then I find NCL's overall wine list terribly lacking. I have hope that Mr. Del Rio will fix this problem. We don't mind spending $100+ on a fine bottle of wine but we do mind being served mediocre quality wine and that's most of NCL's wine list. Their list of Chardonnays is particularly poor. No Cakebread or Grgich Hills??? Really? On the current list there is only a very small handful of hand made wines on the list (perhaps 4). This is why so many oenophiles bring their own wine onboard and pay the corkage fee.

 

White Zinfandel is more appropriate with entrees as it has a better balance of components to compliment a wide variety of foods and is sweet, but not overly sweet - just right: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/wine-101-zinfandel

The other thing about White Zinfandel is that it is so popular that you can get it in almost any restaurant in the US and on almost any cruise ship by the glass or by the bottle.

 

BTW, I don't mean any of this as a criticism of those who drink Moscato with an entree. However, I would like to suggest you try other wines instead. It does take a while to develop a wine palate. For most of my students, starting with White Zinfandel is an easy segue to drier white wines and then red wines, especially softer red wines such as Merlot. The most important thing to understand is that wine affects how your food tastes and food affects how your wine tastes. Many times I have poured champagne and had students try it after water only, then after bread, cheese, caviar and finally a sweet all of which alter the taste of the champagne. It will actually seem to change the champagne from dry to very sweet back to dry depending on what is eaten with the champagne. This simple demonstration shows students in the most dramatic fashion how food can affect wine.

Edited November 5, 2015 by SuiteTraveler

[mickev99]

Ok here's a question regarding Honduras from your precious experience. I had decided on LFK because we could stay longer but I decided to read your Maya Key review again and you got to stay longer on that one....hmmm. Maya key is cheaper. Do you have a favorite between the two? Now I'm torn!!

Edited November 5, 2015 by mickev99

[jenseib]

Your snorkeling pictures are fantastic. I bought a version of your camera and took it to Alaska and am very happy with the pictures I took on it. I can't wait to try it snorkeling in the future.

Being late to the ship makes me very nervous as well. glad you had no issues getting back.

I am not a wine drinker either but I do like beer....well bud light. not many others really.

diet coke is really my posion these days.

 

I'm definitely wanting to go to Alaska. Can you please give me a link to your review? I would definitely like to look it over and the visuals...ahhh YES! :D

 

The link is in my signature so whenever you get time you can click on that. Again I am really slow at posting and still have to finish day 5 of the trip and then 2 more ship days plus embarkation.

 

Hope school is going well for you. My daughter is going for nursing and she is always so busy with her classes and clinicals.

[CAC104]

Ok here's a question regarding Honduras from your precious experience. I had decided on LFK because we could stay longer but I decided to read your Maya Key review again and you got to stay longer on that one....hmmm. Maya key is cheaper. Do you have a favorite between the two? Now I'm torn!!

 

What does LFK stand for?:confused:

[mickev99]

What does LFK stand for?:confused:

 

Little French Key. Sorry, I knew Mitsugirly would know, it was from another review, but didn't want to bump up an old review.

[keeponcruising]

What does LFK stand for?:confused:

 

I think Little French Key

[mabones]

LFK stands for Little French Key. I am going there this December based on Kim's great reviews. I have been to Maya Key a few years ago & wasn't that impressed. LFK is more hands-on if you want to be with the Animals, plus there is more to do. You are limited on Maya Key.

[bahamaman]

Fantastic review! I have sailed on the Breakaway to the Bahamas, but we are booked on the Breakaway Bermuda sailing in early June. Great pics and info that I will keep in mind. Thanks!

 

 

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