Turraloon

I asked this on another thread and then realized I should ask here. Sorry for the duplicate question.

 

Was there a seafood buffet night in the Garden Cafe? My TA went on the agents cruise and she raved about the seafood buffet. I’m wondering if that was just a special event for agents or if they do it on every cruise. Thanks.

 

 

 

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There was a seafood buffet (very good) on the maiden voyage (the paid one from Southampton to New York), but it was held totally unannounced one lunchtime, nothing of that sort in the evening... It did come as a surprise, and with hindsight was probably a dry run for the kitchen crew in advance of the Travel Agents visit...

I suspect you’ll have to wait to see the reports from the regular Alaska cruise...

If you’re a big seafood fan, especially Oysters, Ocean Blue is the place to seek out..

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Just curious are the pools heated or cold as an iceberg in Alaska?

 

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The pool was lovely and warm on the Transatlantic when the open air was as cold as an ‘iceberg in Alaska’ so I can only assume it was heated; either that or I didn’t pay enough attention in science class...

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How was Camille Rae??

 

Did they serve dinner while they were playing?

 

What was the best meat, thinking going for the mixed platter, for a taste of it all

If you like that type of music she’s probably pretty good, and had a large support band... If it’s not your thing it’s just mega loud... Yes they do serve food when the band is playing, so much so that communicating with the servers other than by sign language is impossible... As for the meat, I won’t be able to help you which is the best, the most constructive I could say is that the chicken was probably the least worst...

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I wonder if smoking it off ship days before eating is the reason its not tasting good? From a miamiherald article ......

The meats are smoked off the ship, for example, Stuart said.

"It's been such a pain to develop, honestly, because it's really difficult," he said. "You can't smoke on the ship. So we had to work with the purveyor of meats that we work with to do part of the process off the ship and part on the ship."

Floridian, that may be the core of the explanation. We ate there towards the end of the Transatlantic trip. Presumably the food had been prepared weeks earlier before being shipped to Europe.. We’ve eaten at smokehouses in several US States (not Texas) and hadn’t experienced such odd flavourings previously...

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Others have said it was good. Maybe it's a matter of taste or what they ordered.

We ordered the banquet platter (a bunch of different meats, corn & things) and the ribs, (which turned out to be about 1” thick pieces of a red coloured meat which we concluded was probably pork soaked in some form of red colouring or marinade)...

We generally eat most things all over the world but this meal isn’t one we’d consider repeating...

Maybe a prudent decision is to try the restaurant by paying for and sharing the full platter between two & perhaps the huge dessert also, that way you don’t waste two of your speciality dinners on an unsatisfactory meal?

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I was thinking Q would be on my list to try. Maybe not. What was the bad at Q?

The flavour/taste of the food... Maybe Texas barbecue is a peculiar acquired taste; to us it tasted as if the meat had been cooked in paraffin to such an extent that it was impossible to tell what meat was which by taste, we hardly ate anything... The banana dessert was good but huge, way too large for one person...

If you think you’re going to get anything like baby back ribs (as we did) you’re in for an unwelcome surprise...

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Is the menu the same in The Manhattan Dining Room and Taste and Savor for dinner? Thanks

Yes... some say Savor is the best, we dined in Taste once, it was only average, Manhattan was OK once and quite good the other time...

Speciality restaurants are better (Cagney’s, Bistro & La Cucina) we thought Q was awful, and nobody any anything positive to say about Los Lobos, maybe they’ve got their act together since the Inaugural..

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Sometime between January and April of this year the Escape casino added large black box air purifiers. We noticed on our April cruise and the casino staff verified they had been recently added. We felt it greatly improved the air quality in the casino and didn't notice smoke drifting into other areas as compared to our earlier Escape cruises.

Thanks, we’ve sailed the Escape several times (including its Inaugural) and felt the smoke was far less impactful this time than on past trips... The deck 17 bar above the pool will always be horrible for non-smokers but shifting all the outdoor smoking to H2O would make the only quite deck area intolerable so I guess it’s about as good as it can be as a total ban is a non-starter in our opinion....

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Sounds like people are just looking for reasons to complain. No one said if you are a smoker you can't get a drink at the casino bar, haha. Smoke your cigarette while you lose you money on the slots, grab a drink at the bar, and sit down to some BlackJack 3 mins later. If someone really has to chain-smoke for hours at a a time, they have servers for that reason. lol.

We did the Escape immediately after the Bliss... The smoking issue in Tobacco Road is a major point of anger on that ship too... Cigar smokers are furious because they can’t use the cigar room because it’s packed out with cigarette smokers.. We don’t smoke but our friends do and literally hated the room as it was always populated by a particularly obnoxious foul-mouthed group (middle-aged btw).. NCL seem to be attracting the type of guest that will one day see the industry spiral into decline if they’re not careful...

Like someone else said, the smoking smell on the Bliss seemed at it worse by the rear doors of the Cavern Club.

As it happens the smoking pollution from the Casino on the Escape was nowhere near as bad as it has been in the past but the stench does mean that decks 7 & 8 could benefit from a really deep clean and re-carpeting...

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Steamboats,

I’m sure plenty of folks thought the ship was much better than we did, certainly judged by what some have posted elsewhere... Maybe they have less experience to compare it against?

Jersey Boys in London is a spectacular show, there is hardly any dialogue, just two hour musical packed with hits.. Like you we found the storyline dragged and was extremely dull, adding zero to the show. They could just skip the first 45-60 mins or reduce it to a 5 min introduction. We just didn’t get Havana and left with dozens of others after about 30mins. Having said that the Tenors of Rock (who also did the Escape Inaugural) were excellent as was the rest of the music; (well perhaps except the bellowed Beatles ‘karaoke’)..

We found this Inaugural trip very uninspiring; it had far less of an atmosphere that when the Escape made here Inaugural TA also from the UK to US... (or for that matter any of the other NCL Transatlantic crossings we’ve taken)... On the Escape there were lots of special events and party nights planned most evenings, on this there was nothing of significance, almost as if the ship and crew were just going through the motions.. Didn’t help that the two ports of call were both effectively closed on the days the ship arrived. You have to wonder whether anyone at NCL conducted any pre-cruise planning research...

We still had an OK trip but definitely not a memorable one like so many of our other cruises...

The ship is OK but it definitely needs the entertainment regime livening up....

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Just off the Bliss Inaugural, and board the Escape in the morning...

The ships are very similar. The smoking issue from the casino has largely been removed but the smoking smell from the Humidor (Tobacco Road) on deck 8 is worse on the Bliss.

The cabin layouts are pretty much the same. The Observation Lounge is a major change but it was mainly used as a daytime sleeping room on the TA which made it far less enjoyable. People claim a pitch early morning an leave their belongings there just as they do on deck. It really needs a re-think or somstrict management.

Dining was a bit disappointing, Cagney’s & Le Bistro are pretty much unchanged, Ocean Blue has a much weaker menu, and Q was plain awful foodwise. All the reviews we heard about Los Lobos were negative so we gave it a miss. Savor wasn’t good, and Manhattan only OK the first time but good the second.

The bars haven’t materially changed.

Spice H2O has been reconfigured so using it for outdoor parties looks unlikely. Bigger pools though for when the ship hits better weather.

Entertainment on the ship is mixed, musically good, shows weak (Havana poor, Jersey Boys disappointing if you’ve seen the London or Broadway shows), daytime trivia, etc pretty pathetic (worst on any extended cruise we’ve taken).. The fun parties that are held on the rest of the fleet have been done away with on the Bliss (or they were on the Inaugural) Caliente & the Nashville Ho Down won’t last judged by the numbers that attended (maybe 2-5% of the guests max)...

The Kart Racing is really good and very well priced at $7pp.

Bliss is a good ship but in our opinion falls behind the other Breakaway class ships because of the weaker entertainment programme & retrograde restaurant changes...

The Atrium has a better layout that on the Escape, etc.. (but I’m not sure that balloon animals, paper folding, and primary level language classes are what most cruisers are looking for)...

Let’s try to keep things in perspective, shall we? This is a dining room menu, after all. I’m sure some of the people who live in the areas the Bliss will be visiting (namely the VIs) would rather be dealing with menu changes at their favorite restaurant than the ongoing rebuilding efforts.

 

 

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What has the rebuild recovery on the Virgin Islands got to do with a ship that sails from Europe to the States that will then head off to Alaska? 🤷*♂️🤷*♂️🤷*♂️

What makes you think we’re not ‘full of compassion’ for the devastation on the Islands and haven’t already been there to spend our cash to hopefully help support their rebuild?

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I contacted NCL, and I was sent the proof copy of the'West Coast' Ocean Blue menu, and only Lobster pie, or the big combo with the Halibut

 

Steamed Pacific Halibut / Leek Fondue / King Crab / Shrimp / Lobster / Crustacean Bisque

 

 

 

We are going to the land of Alaskan King crab in the shell, no King Crab leg appetizer or crab claw appetizer. Barents Sea King Crab is in the description of one of the dishes. Barants sea is North of Scandinavia

 

 

 

We can have in King crab pasta with korean chili or the crab salad. or the Halibut combo

 

 

 

I will be cancelling my Ocean Blue as well if its is that menu, when we sale in June.

 

the main Entrees

 

 

 

MAINS

 

Fisherman’s Recommendation / Any of our Exceptional Fresh Fish - Simply Prepared - Steamed or Sautée Lemon Caper Butter Sauce / Chimichurri Sauce / Roast Fingerling Potatoes / Cumin-Roasted Baby Carrots $ 24.99

 

THE SEA

 

Rigatoni Pasta / Barents Sea King Crab / Korean Chili / Cream / Wild Greens $ 24.99

 

Pan-Seared Scallops* / Thai Spiced Carrot Purée / Foamy Coconut Sauce $ 19.99

 

Cold Water Lobster Pot Pie / Américaine Sauce / Morels / Asparagus Tips / Flaky Pastry $ 24.99

 

Sautéed Black Seabass Fillet* / Sautéed Savoy Cabbage / Applewood Bacon /

 

Young Peas / Merlot Sauce $ 21.99

 

Steamed Pacific Halibut / Leek Fondue / King Crab / Shrimp / Lobster / Crustacean Bisque $ 34.99

 

THE LAND

 

Tongue and Cheek / Beef Cheek and Tongue Braised in IPA Beer / Red Wine

 

Yukon Gold Horseradish Mash / Charred Carrot / Turnip Green $ 16.99

 

Roasted Beef Tenderloin* / Chanterelle Mushroom Ragout / Truffle Mashed Potatoes $ 23.99

 

THE SKY

 

Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast / Duck Croquette / Butternut Squash Puree / Blueberry Vinegar Jus $ 17.99

 

 

 

Cannot wait for the TA and Panama crossing people to report if its really true.

This was the Ocean Blue menu of the Getaway just before Xmas... We ate there several times on it’s TA from Europe back to Florida.

The new Ocean Blue menu for the Bliss doesn’t begin to compare with the old menu and is certainly not worthy of the supplement in our opinion...

The Ocean Blue was always a dining highlight on other ships, it seems it will be nothing special on the Bliss..

I have no idea whether NCL read these Cruise Critic Forums but if they do, they should be made aware of what their longstanding loyal guests think of unacceptable changes like this...

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Any idea if children will be able to participate in the new parties? I don’t know anything about these parties.

 

 

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I agree with other comments, children are allowed to attend the late night parties but only until 11pm... There is signage as you go to H2O to that effect... I can only assume the new parties on the Bliss will do as the other ships do...

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People sailing on the 21st...have you signed up for entertainment? I know people were wondering when it would be available and I thought they were sailing in April...

Shows are not available to book for the Inaugural... Maybe the scheduling isn’t yet fixed... They usually have guest performers on Transatlantic crossings so those too need slotting in...

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Are there any balcony cabins obstructed by life boats? when I look at exterior photos it doesnt appear there are but I may be missing this so thought I'd ask. I.wanna book a BX cabin so if none obstructed by the life boats this gives me peace of mind....thank you! :)

Category BX denies you all the promotions... The promotions are valued much more than the price differential, (unless you don’t drink, don’t use the speciality restaurants, etc)... We’ve had 10, 11 & 12 deck balconies on the Breakaway class, never noticed any lifeboat obstructions...

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Hi all.

New to NCL (and cruising in general since this will only be my second cruise). I have a dining question... when going to reserve at specialty restaurants, my profile only shows specific times available. Can we just show up instead of having a reservation? I booked with the free dining so we get 3 nights at specialty restaurants and nothing seems to be available before 9pm.

 

Thanks! And I appreciate all the info available on these boards! Hubby, son, in-laws, and I are sailing from Seattle on June 2. Can't wait!!

 

Kim

It means all the earlier dining times have been booked by others... Your best answer would be to take what’s available then when you board go to the restaurant reservations desk and try to change the timings... You can’t just turn up as you please to those restaurants although you pretty much can to the main dining rooms... Nearly everyone on the ship will have some speciality dining...

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Weirdly enough I bloody loved Blazing Boots and knew every single song. But I wouldn't personally call one music "proper" to another. [emoji1]

Glad you liked it; we were ‘hemmed in’ and couldn’t easily escape the theatre, it was purgatory...

There was an American girl near us that seemed to know the songs, we go the 20-30 gigs a year, but didn’t know (or like) a damned one..

To be fair country music rarely figures on our festival schedule although one has an Outlaw Country Stage which can be really rocky but not sure you’d call it “Yee-ha”, or even country....

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Wow they're really doubling down on the country western theme. That seems strange for a ship like this. I can't imagine much of their clientele will be into that kind of music. Most country music fans are from a very small section of the United States. This ship will have people on it from all over the world. :confused:

Thankfully there is an antidote to an overload of Country Music...

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I have to agree as my husband and I just spent the weekend at C2C (for those not in the know it is an annual country music event held in London, Dublin & Glasgow). We look forward to it every year and know many others with an appreciation for country

 

 

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Country music is very much like Marmite... some folks love it, many just detest it... I’ll probably give the ‘Yee-Ha’ a look but if the ship was to be dominated by that genre it would put me totally off re-booking... The Jade TA last year had a perverse leaning towards that genre given the guest mix, the Blazing Boots show was just horrendous given nobody hardly knew any of the music..

The Cavern Club will be the retreat for those of us that like ‘proper’ music as the Siglo covers band will hopefully provide ample AC/DC, GunsNRoses, Deep Purple, Stones, Zepplin, Pink Floyd, etc... Hopefully that over-rated Liverpool band sessions can be kept to the early evening to accommodate the ‘old folks’ who’ll need to get to bed [emoji6]...

Howl at the Moon is a concern but maybe NCL are moving away from it? It used to be really good but was just awful on the Getaway TA, maybe the expansion of cruising has meant there just aren’t enough proficient artists willing to spend months at sea..

Silent Disco is something we’ve done a few times, you can’t pick your own music as suggested but you can pick one of TWO songs which the DJ selects. On RCCL the useless DJ always played two songs that were remarkably similar, e.g. 2 Michael Jackson songs, etc. totally defeating the ethos of a silent disco... At music festivals we’ve been to you get a proper crazy atmosphere in the silent disco as the two pairings might be Earth Wind & Fire or Iron Maiden; or perhaps a rap song paired up with ABBA... Those sessions can get a little crazy and great fun (especially if you’ve had a couple of drinks)...

Personally I’m very happy with the Jersey Boys show as that music is upbeat and pretty timeless... Has to be the best themed musical show NCL have introduced so far in terms of suiting all age groups...

I’m still hoping the Bliss have found a slot for some guest artists (the Barricade Boys for example) for the Inaugural TA as they always give a show that impresses...

Anyway less than a month to wait now...

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I wonder if a GPS ankle monitor will satisfy the requirement.

 

 

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Can’t decide between buying one like Hamilton or Alonso.... Decisions, decisions...

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Ah, makes sense. Thanks!! I didn't remember that from the Escape. Should have compared the floor plans!

Juvesgirl, pretty sure all the Breakaway class ships have a similar area, the Getaway does too... I got the impression it might include store rooms as when liquors ran out at the Atrium bar that’s where the crew went to before returning with additional supplies.

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Will O'Sheehan's cook it rare upon request? I really enjoyed the (cooked to order) burger at Margaritaville on the Escape a couple months ago. I'm skeptical that O'Sheehan's could pull that off - but I'd be willing to give it a try.

 

 

 

Tom

Sorry Tom, can’t help you. I would have thought they should be able to but as I never pick a burger at O’Sheehans I’ve no recollection. My wife & daughter both have steak rare so I guess they’d complain if the burgers weren’t done to their preference.

Neil

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Good to know, thank you!

 

 

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Steve & Codex,

That isn’t correct about the dining package unless they’ve changed it within the last month or so. With the dining package you have a determined number of speciality meals included. You tell the server whether you are using your UDP package and they then zero your bill (which you sign and get a copy). Most people get 3 or 4 meals, some people buy a lot more and many buy none at all. Margaritaville isn’t part of the UDP scheme. You pay there for whatever you have (unless NCL change it on the Bliss). Margaritaville would be a waste of one of you UDP meals if that option was available to you as it’s basically upscale burgers and your meal is far cheaper than the proper restaurants.

In Cagney’s, Le Bistro & La Cuccina a good quality 3 course meal with service charges is circa $50pp, nearer $30pp in Moderno & Teppanyaki. If you fancy a burger I would strongly recommend O’Sheehan’s rather than Margaritaville, my daughter says they’re really good and they are complimentary.

Neil

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Here’s my question; if Margaritaville now has a cover charge, does it count against the UDP? I’m sure as hell not going to waste a lunch at Margaritaville when I can have a dinner at Cagney’s.

 

 

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Steve, The UDP has never applied to Margaritaville on the Escape or the Getaway (we were on them both within the last 2 months).. I can never understand why someone wants to pay for a fancy burger as against a proper meal in one of the other restaurants... I certainly won’t be wasting one of my speciality dining days on a burger either...

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