Porterhouse248

12 hours ago, NW Pacific said:

Just so curious as thinking of doing another cruise in a couple months from San Pedro, was there an explanation why you could not walk off with your luggage.  On a 7 day cruise we just take walk on walk off luggage.???

I was also on this cruise and the reason they strongly discouraged walking off with bags (a letter from the Captain was provided the day prior) was because we docked at berth 46, which is at the far end of the port (actually several miles away from the main port/berth where we embarked). 

They required bus/shuttle transport to the remote (tented) “terminal” where checked bags could be picked up, taxis could be secured and another shuttle was available to take passengers back to the main parking area if they had driven to the port. 

Due to port regulations, you were not allowed to walk from the ship to the remote terminal, even though it was just a few hundred yards away. While it was not the most convenient experience, it was by no means a deal breaker. Probably added about 20 minutes to our typical process having to wait for a shuttle.
 

We did not feel the Rooftop Garden restaurant was up to the level of the other specialty restaurants. The food was more like upscale "bar food", rather than a more formal restaurant offering. It can also get quite chilly, but they do have blankets for you to use.

We just showed up at the restaurant we wanted to eat at whenever we wanted to eat. If there was space, they seated us. If not, they gave us a pager we could take with us anywhere on the ship. We were assigned a seating and a restaurant, but it didn't seem to matter we elected to do our own thing.

We had the 4-night package. My thoughts ...

Eden is fantastic. Truly a culinary experience, not just a dinner. Check the menu to make sure it's to your liking, as there are just 2 choices for each course. Also, while not Specialty (so it's free), we also enjoyed the Eden Cafe for lunch. Great panini sandwiches and soups and you can eat inside or in a nice outdoor area overlooking the sea. It was much more relaxing than the buffet.

Petit Chef was very creative and fun. The show was clever and entertaining for all of us (e.g., it's not just fun for kids). Steakhouse was delicious and what you would expect. The only one we were left saying, "meh" was the Rooftop Garden, which seemed more like standard bar and grille food to us.

In addition to what saltycat said, our minibar (on the Edge) also included 4 mini bottles of Tito's Vodka, which were replaced daily and included in the Drinks and More package. 2 Cokes and 2 Diet Cokes were there, too, and replenished daily, with no additional charges.

Any insight on how to enjoy the IV with the window open and still have cabin AC? Shut the bi-fold doors? Only partially open window? Hack the system 😉 ?

This is one of the most poorly written reviews I have ever read. Sloppy, sloppy writing. I sure wish people would simply read what they type before posting!

If you search for "NCLBreakaway" on Twitter and look at the latest tweets, some people have posted pictures and videos.

Would these menus apply for Haven guest on June 2016 Breakaway sailings? thanks

Yes, they do.

Is the Surf and Turf in the Haven an extra charge or included in the price for Haven guests? This is appears to be my first cruise back with the Surf and Turf option in the Haven--unless I was oblivious to the option before. Also, anyone know if the Surf and Turf is also available in the Epic Haven?

Everything on the Haven menu is included for Haven guests - no upcharges. The Surf & Turf is incredible.

Would you happen to have the new Haven dinner menus or know where I might view them?

Are they different every night or is it the same menu like the specialty restaurants?

 

Thanks so much.

Don

Here you go, Don. The new breakfast, lunch and dinner menus for the Haven. They stay the same every day, but there is a lot to choose from.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49289761#post49289761

Here is a link to the complete set of Haven menus.

Click on the thumbnails for full-size view.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49289761#post49289761

 

Any more details on David? I thought Anoop was still on.

I was expecting Anoop, too.

In past cruises, our Concierge would mingle during breakfast, engaging tables in conversations about their plans and generally developing rapport.

David essentially sat behind his desk and waited for people to come to him. When we did, he was somewhat helpful but not very personable. For example, when asking to book a spa appointment, he simply called them and handed us the phone to talk.

Our welcome aboard letter also explained how we could be escorted to shows. When I asked about it, he said instead we had a Haven section we could sit in. No escort down the back elevator or anything like I've experienced on other NCL cruises.

 

Just curious... which restaurant did you get sushi? Do you know if there is a raw bar onboard?

It was Wasabi Sushi, which is across from Ocean Blue on deck 8. It is a la carte, but the rolls were very reasonable (about $5-6 each if I remember correctly). There is also a raw bar, which is adjacent to Ocean Blue.

Just returned from the Breakaway. Had a fantastic cruise and was very glad to have been in the Haven. Here are a few hits and misses we experienced.

Hits:

The Haven restaurant – menus (especially dinner) and service were exceptional. Surf and turf and lobster are offered every night … wow!

Second City – really enjoyed several of the shows – great performers

Waterslides – awesome on port days when everyone was ashore and there were no waits

Sushi – unique selections and very delicious

Porter service upon disembarkation – probably the best $20 I spent on the cruise!

Misses:

Internet – the latency/ping speeds were terrible. Upload and download speeds were OK, but for the most part it was barely tolerable due to the latency. It was a definite setback from my experience on the Jewel last year. Perhaps this is due to so many people having packages and using the system, as I noticed it was much improved in the middle of the night

Traveling from NY – very cold sailaway and through most of the next day. On return, the last day at sea was cold too. This takes away from some of the desire for a warm vacation

Haven Concierge (David) – he really did not engage proactively like other concierges we’ve had. When asked for help, he acted dismissively

Haven roof – never opened. Heard rumors that it is broken and will remain closed until it can be returned to the shipyard. Anyone else hear this?

-----

Overall, we had a great time and would certainly not hesitate to sail on the Breakaway again.

find the webcam?

 

what are the reasons for the ship not docking in GSC? I missed this island years ago and hope to make it on the trip this time around. we leave Sunday

I'm on the Breakaway now. The seas were too choppy to tender to GSC yesterday. Captain made the announcement around 9:15 am and we headed slowly to Nassau once we secured an overnight berth.

Intermittent clouds and light showers today - a nice rainbow earlier.

We are at the far pier, so those on the port side have a nice view of Atlantis, Colonial Beach and the sea, as well as the channel traffic.

Thanks for the responses folks.

 

Does anyone know what the food and beer menus for The Haven Bar and Restaurant look like?

Here are the menus for food. Don't have bar.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49289761#post49289761

This would have been quite a sight to see from port.

http://ban.jo/News/US-Canada/20160315/Yacht-Fire-In-St-Thomas-Island-VI-Saint-Thomas/

Do you happen to have a pic of the Haven restaurant dinner menu?

I posted the new menus a week or so ago ... click on the thumbnails for a full-screen view.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49289761#post49289761

I reached out to the pre-trip concierge and was successful in getting all the current menus for the Haven restaurant.

I hope others find this helpful ... and mouth-watering! (they must print them 2-up on a page, hence the duplicate columns)

I heard rumors that the menus may have changed recently.

Anyone have pictures of breakfast, lunch or dinner menus to share?

Thank you.

So if we reserve online a 10am time, we need to get there by 9:15am in order to pick up our tickets and get in during our time???

The ticket booth is on Carrer de Sardenya. Then, you walk around to the other side of the cathedral on Carrer de la Marina to enter.

This is a map that is on the tickets to show you where to go.

If you have pre-purchased tickets and either printed them out or have them accessible via smartphone, you can simply proceed directly to the entrance on Carrer de la Marina and get in the access line. No need to visit the ticket booth at all.

We had a 3:45-4:00 reservation, arrived at 3:40 and got right in.

We went about a month ago and pre-purchased tickets online. This is definitely the way to go, as when we arrived for our afternoon tour, they were turning walk-ups away, as they were fully booked for the day.

We were not able to print our tickets ahead of time, but did not need to wait in a will-call line either, as they were able to simply scan the barcode on my smartphone. From the time we arrived to the time we were in the cathedral was less than 5 minutes.

Walking to it from the city center, it is an amazing site, as you see it emerge from between the other buildings. It continues to grow and become more and more magnificent as you get nearer. Simply spectacular.

If my freestyle choice package includes 250 free minutes, but I want the unlimited package, how would I make that work? Would they deduct the value of the 250 minutes ($125) from the 7-day unlimited price ($210) and have me pay the difference? Anyone have experience requesting this?

If you are looking for a bit more of a premium experience, you might want to consider ExecuCar, which is owned by the Super Shuttle company. They operate luxury sedans and full-size SUVs, as opposed to shuttle vans.

We used them in Houston for transport to and from the airport/hotel/port and it worked great. Easy online booking and confirmation, with automatic payment via credit card.

You pay more for ExecuCar's personalized service, but we felt it was worth the added cost.

Just something you might want to consider.