podgeandrodge

On Breakaway last month American Diner was only open on "sea days", which was 1 out of 11 nights cruise. Weird rule. Maybe same for you, it was empty as it was actually closed (it wasn't obvious to me until I went in and asked)

I had wings in O'Sheehan's on the Breakaway last month. Nowhere near as good as previous years, dunno how they were cooked.

On the Breakaway recently I generally drank Peroni or Warsteiner. Sure, not craft beers, but streets ahead of Heineken etc. imo.

So if Barcelona is AN embarcation port, you get stung. Off my list so!

Is it possible at all that passengers embarking in Spain on Epic would be auto charged and Rome passengers not? Technically easy for NCL I guess, but there would be Armageddon onboard I'd say.

Must be down to individual countries implementation of VAT. Having said that, it also seems to differ between cruise lines!

I found a good mix of people in 20s right up to 70s. In the bars in the evening most were in 30's to 50's. ps - I've been on a few Royal Caribbean cruises and wouldn't see them as being more high-end than NCL - I'd see them as equivalent (though I personally prefer the quality of the food and music offering on NCL).

So I am just back from Breakaway leaving from Civitavecchia. No VAT charged at all. Could it be as simple as, on an EU only cruise, "if you leave from Barcelona you get charged VAT for whole cruise" but "if you leave from Civitavecchia you pay nothing" - seriously something to bear in mind when picking a cruise in future if it is that simple.

Agree with both of these statements. I'd be morto going to the front of the line. But if separate line at least it would be official. (Even more morto if they told me to get back in line 😆)

Now why didn't I think of that! Yes. "Italian regulations" , would not elaborate. Didn't bother trying to get someone more senior .

Yep, it's good, and only reason I get it is because the "strong" isn't strong enough!

Yeah. The strange thing is the casino was open very quickly after Naples, heading to Livorno and that part of the trip hugs the coast of Italy, and yet all open!

So casino closed all day yesterday, after leaving Livorno, due to 'Italian regulations '. But was open the evening we left Naples. Anyone understand this?

At Livorno, and not allowed to lodge cash to my account , told it's Italian regulations, and I'll have to wait til Cannes tomorrow. Crazy stuff!

That's my memory too. But at 3.30/4 last night nothing like a burger to be had.

So O'Sheehan's was only serving a few unappetising sandwiches at 3.30am this morning. They said normal menu finishes at 3am. I thought I was able to get a burger later than that on previous cruises, no? Maybe I've made it by 3 am. The Norwegian app shows an 'all day menu' and a 'late night menu'. But no closing times. But says "pub grub 24/7".

Yeah not great eh! Although the premium streaming WiFi likely a lot better. But it's fine for surfing and emails. Ah that speed is standard across all ships that I've been on for the basic WiFi. As Ukstages said, it's pretty basic.

I'm on breakaway. Speed about 2.75 Mbps. Sharing hotspot with a friend in cabin directly across the hallway, and when we're out and about in the bar at night. No problems surfing, WhatsApp, emails etc over the 1 connection being shared. In fact, last night, there were 5 of us in a bar and only I with the internet. They all connected for a few mins and got up to date with messages etc . Netflix standard definition only needs 3mbps, so emails etc are not a problem. I speak of my experience on Breakaway, but if you're getting speed between 2.5 and 3, should be fine . (I'm also able to check home 4 camera CCTV no probs).

Yes, the Hamilton Beach machine. I bring Senseo extra strong pods with me (Amazon etc) which are great. I find that coffee far more authentic than Neshitpresso hah!

Meat looks decent enough in those photos.

Well the O'Sheehans burger on Breakaway was identical to the buffet, and definitely a frozen patty. I wonder, I'm on a 11 night. Perhaps different burgers....but they are crap! Edit: American Diner closed. Was open yesterday on only sea day of the cruise, they say only opens for sea days. They said it only opens for breakfast now. Closed every day. Ffs!

A freshly cooked McDonald's quarter pounder would beat the NCL burger hands down. It actually has some texture to it! I'm not talking about the burger suffering from quality due to how many are being grilled. My last one was hot off the grill and horrible, no way was it a 100% beef burger . Bland taste, mush texture. I will try the American Diner tomorrow and hopefully it will be of quality comparable to Royal's Johnny Rocketts , which at least has fresh ground beef.

Breakaway. The burger is absolutely not what I got on the Star late last year, which was quite good. I've just asked American Diner and they said their burger is fresh not the same frozen burger as the buffet. I'll try it and see!

Yes! No texture, if I was told it was a meat substitute I would have believed it.

Since I was last on an NCL cruise, the burgers are different. To me, cheap quality mushy crap. Is the American Diner a different burger or the same anyone know?