Zenica

I might go to Boston or Florida to depart but NY is much easier.

If I am to travel, it opens up the possibilities to many other lines.

NCL was the easiest as it is right in NY. I know other lines are as well but NCL

seems to have a greater NY presence than the others.

I won't book the Dawn.

The Breakaway was our first cruise and we loved it. Nothing to complain about with respect to the vessel itself. The premium dining for us wasn't so, premium. It was just different in comparison to the free dining venues. Our favorite was the Garden Cafe and Shanghai Noodle.

The staff were fantastic.

The only gripe we had were the long lines and feel of over crowding, especially at the pool area and bars.

Our cabin had plenty of space for us and the balcony was a decent size too. It would be great if they had a kids channel so in hindsight, next time we'll pack more for the kids to watch. My son kept wanting to watch "channel 10", the safety channel where they go over the do's and don'ts.

Ask me in 15 years.

I was on the cruise and only feel it right to reply to the comments myself and a man pulled the lady out

of the hot tub not the staff and then with my shouts another man came to help us he began CPR again

not the other staff this was a very distressing situation and still causing flash backs I don't want to make

to many comments as I don't want to cause distress to the family but the staff were appalling in the way

they handled the situation and had no compassion for the situation I can only hope the family got better

treatment when we pulled her from the water it was evident she had been there a long while and it was

to late even though we tried there had been no patrols on deck I don't want to go into the time limit which

was shown on the CCTV we had a meeting with the captain and various staff who confirmed that this was

the case and if it hadent been for a lady shouting from the top deck to me to which I responded no one

had seen her NCL dealt very badly with the situation and the time scale for there arrival was well beyond

what they have said we asked at the meeting that more patrols where needed to ensure it didn't happen

again but from the feedback from Customer Service I feel no lessons have been learnt it has a effect

on the family but also the rest of us caught up in the incident and they have showed no care towards us

I expected more from them and was told to leave are emails so we could be kept informed of the events

to date we have received no feedback about the improvements

Your post is missing a bunch of .

Would you be the same person that posted to facebook?

I bought the 300MB plan and my wife used it checking work emails, it was 80% gone in two days loading 200 emails.

Zero videos, zero pictures and only ten minutes of searching eBay/Amazon for prices of the TAG I bought and a painting they had for sale which turned out to be 1200% overpriced. (The TAG was priced slightly better than on land)

I know that. People not familiar with BA/GA might think that the splash area is the only area for kids. Both the splash area and the pool next to it can be used by kids. Adults can swim in the family pool or in the adult pool that is further towards the front of the ship.

Understood.

I didn't realize what your post meant till now.

With an 8,000 mile ranged missile and not being a good aim, Canada may not be that safe.

 

You might be better off in the South Pacific. :evilsmile:

OMG! This post is TOOOO funny!!!!

The family pool can look like this....

 

The image I posted was the family pool area. It was divided into a toddler section suitable to up 5 or 6 and there was the area to the left (of the perspective viewed in the image) where kids older than 6 but younger than 12 were seen.

Both areas were crowded, chaotic and rife with unruly parents.

Strange, on Breakaway last week we were given the packets of Presidential butter.

Have to agree. We probably set ourselves up to expect a superb experience by listening to people rave about Cagneys. Just off the Getaway.

 

My meal and one of my sister's were fine; not super, but fine; steaks were well cooked, but honestly I can get one just as good as home for half the price. Sides, apps, dessert kind of ordinary.

 

I don't get what all the hoopla is about, for the prices charged.

Price was the one thing we thought was in line for what is received. It's about 1/4 the price of a good steakhouse and on par with ...dare I say....Outback...which is where I ranked my single experience dining there.

Le Bistro was no better than Cagneys during our experience. Having dined in France I suppose my expectations may have been too high but frankly, the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas was better and I rank that as the poorest example of French cuisine. I was hoping for traditional choices in the menu but was disappointed. The french onion soup was over salted, had near zero cheese and used the incorrect bread.

But again, for the prices....it is commensurate. I'd happily pay quadruple for the real deal. The same was true of the quasi Italian restaurant, gelatin in Tiramisu? Who does that???

It’s not about what you disagree with as my original post stated that I️ am aware that people have varying tastes. However my statement was about how most chefs would consider anything above med-rare to be a waste of the meat hence not “perfection”.

 

 

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Chef opinions not withstanding, this is a conversation about something which has no absolutes, meaning there isn't a correct or incorrect answer other than what is edible and what someone likes.

I am hoping for a better filet when we visit Cagneys again. The one I had the first time was not enjoyable for me.

You do realize that the oven is used in restaurants for efficiency, and not because it's the best/preferred way to cook a steak, right? You do also realize that a steak cooked to medium well is overdone by pretty much anyone's standards. If you believe that's cooked to perfection, then you've lost credibility on pretty much all else you've said.

The oven isn't for efficiency. It's done for effect. If you've never done it at home, you won't understand. I've been invited behind the doors at several high end restaurants and observed only 2 that employ this method.

You're making inferences that I never alluded to. I like my filet and all steak prepared to medium rare/medium.

I have prepared filet to medium well for guests and I've tried it. It isn't my preference but the meat was still tender

and retained some moisture. For me, perfection it isn't but for those that order it that way, it might be.

You def did not read my post or didn’t understand it. I️ said anything over Med-rare is a waste of a good piece of meat. Doesn’t matter how it was cooked, be it grilled, pan seared, oven baked etc. if it’s over Med-rare then throw it out lol.

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I completely disagree with you. I've had and prepared filet to medium and felt it was as delicious, moist and as tender as anything prepared to medium rare, just warmer.

If it was Med-well then it was not seared to perfection [emoji12].

Not true. The idea of pan searing is to achieve the sear which locks in moisture. Then finish in an oven for reaching the correct temp although it can be done in the pan completely as I have done this too many times to recount. Just basting with butter/clarified butter or olive oil keeps it seared with a warm pink center for medium.

Again, way off topic.

At Cagney's I was able to order 3 sides, my wife had 3 and I had two desserts, all under my dining package.

The adult pool was a little less chaotic but still a mess and the pool itself too deep.

The adults in the kids pool should have been watching from the sides, not in the pool contributing to the overcrowding.

It was like this most days, our kids got to use the pool just once.

The best discount to add a single passenger (especially if you want them to have haven access) is to add them to your room. Outside of that, your choices are as you stated, pay double occupancy for a regular cabin or for a solo cabin. But no, there’s no way that person will have access to the haven public areas. It’s a slippery slope, start w the nanny (assuming that’s who you are bringing), then someone will want a close family member, and soon enough you would have 1 family booking a haven cabin and bringing their whole extended family into the haven areas with them.

 

 

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You're mostly correct. It isn't our Au Pair, but rather a distant family member that's willing to come and help with the kids when we need so she can have some time on the ship to herself. We'd rather she had her own cabin so she doesn't feel beholden to us the whole time wanting to help out or feel awkward if she isn't. Plus at her age, I'm sure privacy is a big issue. I guess we'll just have to find a way to deal with the restriction....but the main pool is out of the question.

The adults at the kids pool were less behaved than those you'd forgive of poor judgement. Our kids took one look and said they didn't need to use the pool.

Flame broiled like Burger King? Um, no. Does it taste like it was cooked on a flame? Yes, because like all good steaks, it is. On at least some of the ships, you can stand there and watch them cook it.

Actually, the best restaurants don't use an open flame for cooking cuts like the filet.

It is pan seared and often finished in an oven. By best restaurants, I mean those with Michelin stars and those

trying to earn them. Not my point though....

We'll try it again in March, perhaps it was a fluke that evening.

Crap.

Are there any known exceptions to this? Say, to have someone accompany our kids to the pool for a short time so we can stretch our legs?

To everyone that has had the filet at Cagneys, did it taste....flame broiled to you? as in...Home of the Whopper flame broiled....

Both my wife's and mine tasted like a steak that passed through the grill at Burger King. I like Whoppers but this was....unexpected and not desired.

↑ Just asking if the studio is the most advantageous price for solo travelers, cost being the prime consideration.

Can one cabin's OBC be transferred to another cabin?

So I can't bring a non haven ship passenger into the Haven area? or my Haven cabin???

I used my Motorola walkies with moderate success. I could travel 8 decks apart and 1/2 the ship away from my wife and still be able to communicate. It came in handy to have and I didn't ever hear anyone else on our frequency but then again, I believe this model of walkie talkie uses encryption. Each handset in the series has to be programmed using special software so only those keyed to each other can hear each other.

If we get a second cabin for someone, does anyone have any suggestions for how to get the best discounts off paying double? I know the studio is one way but is there another?

Also how can I redirect the OBC (if any) to our reservation? This person will have no use for it and if nothing else, I can apply it to some CruiseNext certificates.

Also, will this person, at our invitation, be able to join us in the Haven pool area?

↑ He seemed to clip his nails at 9am, right when we wanted to have coffee and sit on the balcony.

We weren't back to the cabin until after lunch to freshen up, then not again until after dinner. By then, we were stuffed and not in the mood for coffee or anything but laying down and relaxing.

I have to first pull the video from my phone...I forgot I set it to record 1080p at 60fps so its a short clip, 30 seconds but a very large file, 200MB. I was hoping to email it to myself or upload directly to YT from the phone but YT changes its procedures so often that I no longer know how to do it!

I did rewatch the video and the ocean does look choppier than I recall standing on the deck. I'll get it uploaded...

I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise. The ship is amazing, it doesn't look abused at all as some have said. I can't get over how the staff work 7 days a week for 6 months straight and at 12 hours a day and with a genuine friendliness. They appear completely stoic, interested solely in helping the passengers. Only a few were distant and unwilling to engage, a by product of their native environments....(think socialist communism).

I'm looking forward to our March cruise with even greater anticipation, especially given we're in the Haven.

I can see us cruising twice a year for at least several years....

I'm going to skip the full formal review, their is a plethora of reviews to read already and far more elaborate than I'd be!

I will just hot a few high and a few low points. This was our first cruise so many things were new for us.

First, our steward, Ferdinand, was FANTASTIC. He made a new towel animal every day for the kids. They loved coming back to the room to see what he crafted next. I brought two of them home!

The cabin was nice, the bed not too firm. My pillow made sleeping on the mattress endurable. My wife liked it as she likes a firm mattress. I avoided personal wipes and the charmin.....BIG mistake. To hell with the consequence, next time I'm bringing both. Yes, I know, I'll have to use a toiletry can and bags but it is a small price to pay for comfort. Say what you will but that sandpaper Norwegian has to supply is not bad on day one but by day seven? after all the food available onboard? Charmin may not even be up to the task!

The restaurants we tried, Cagneys, Le Bistro and La Cucina were all ....meh.

Tiramisu had gelatin in it, I asked and the chef confirmed....claimed it was for "structure" of the dessert. I call BS.

Not a single creme brulee was unadulterated with either mint, berries, lime or pineapple. On that note, they had mint tiramisu. Yuk.

Filet at Cagney's tasted EXACTLY like a flame broiled Whopper, just in steak form.

The Garden Cafe was always fantastic. The desserts were always tasty and changed every day. The gelato was not bad, no mint so our kids were disappointed but quickly forgot about that with the self serve soft ice cream machines. The entrees were on par with any from the premium restaurants and the selection was better. I did have to skip my pancake ritual but it was replaced with french toast and bananas foster sauce...YUM! YUM! YUM!

We LOVED Shanghai's Noodle Bar, one of the best places we tried!

Our cabin was mid ship so we missed out on some of the motion we were hoping to feel. We couldn't use our balcony much, it seemed like every day the guy next door was clipping his nails on his balcony. I was beginning to think he has issues, who needs to clip them every day???

I did observe a lot of the rudeness so many others commented on but I also met many friendly people. The staff are incredible. They put in 12 hour days seven days a week. HOLY $%#@!♪ &*^%!! That's indentured servitude! but they always had a smile on, were friendly and attentive to the kids. They earn every cent of what ever percentage they get from the DSC. I also asked our steward, they keep what ever tips they get, no pooling. I was glad to hear that.

We missed out on the second stop at NCL's island. The Captain cancelled the tender due to "bad weather".

I made a video showing the ocean, the island and you decide if you think the weather was bad. The funny thing is, he let Haven people go.

Video will be posted later, after I figure out how to!

The info and link has answered the question. Thanks everyone.