Breakaway - 11/24

[KEPE]

Just got off the Breakaway. We had a really great time. The weather was not wonderful but it was ok.

 

Totally full ship and it never felt over crowded. 1500 kids on this cruise. The kids club staff did an amazing job of keeping the kids entertained and happy. DD never wanted to leave.

 

Dinning - Tappanaki, to my surprise was really good. I booked this for the entertainment factor thinking DD would enjoy it. We really liked the food. Enough to go back! Manhattan room, only ate there once on Thanksgiving and it was good. Service was great and food was tasty. Moderno, didn't like it. Cagneys, ok, nothing special. La Cucina, was good. Carlo's. The chocolate canoli was good, the seven layer cookies, stale, the cupcake, nothing special. Garden cafe, loved the pretzel rolls, the rocky road hard ice cream. DH had some crazy fascination with the pizza, lol. I liked the late night snacks of chips and Queso :). O'sheehans, chicken pot pie was pretty tasty. The alcohol, TOTALLY watered down. I don't usually drink anything but wine and when I do I feel it VERY quickly. I was able to drink multiple cocktails and feel like it was just juice. We had a soda card and we had no problems getting soda even multiples at any bar.

 

Themral spa was great. Tiles loungers were lovely, nice quiet space to get away to. DH spent a lot of time in there and it was really nice. He had three massages and said they were all great.

 

Casino, a little too smokey for me. It felt like there was not a lot of ventilation. Even when walking through from one side of the floor to the other I felt like I smelled like smoke when I came out.

 

Pool, kids pool was very cute, they should enforce the no diapers rule a little better as I did see a number of kids in there with diapers on (not even swim diapers, regular old diapers) which caused me to take DD out. Was always able to find a lounge chair and even though the weather was not the greatest the pool area was always crowded.

 

Entertainment, Rock of ages was really good and so was Cirque. We watched the burn the floor dancers in the manhattan room and I enjoyed that. We played Bingo, Deal or no deal, saw the magician Michael Finney (he was ok) and Second City (didn't like this). A few trivia games (fun)

 

Did the pajama Party with Dora, worth the $$. We went to the Character meet and greets, story time with Dora, Nick trivia was cute.

 

That's all I can think of. Overall nice trip. It was fun to talk to people and get their opinions, which varied widely, some LOVED it and others HATED it. Was interesting to see the contrast.

 

Let me know if you have any questions :D

[cruisebear84]

thanks so much for your review! how were the ports? doing this cruise in 2 weeks so i'm gathering every bit of info i can!! :)

[meatball_nyc]

Thank you for your review, Kepe!

 

Good to know that even on a full cruise it didn't feel overcrowded.

 

Keep hearing about these pretzel rolls in the buffet. Mmmmm they sound good.

 

All your info is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

Happy Sailing and Happy Holidays to all!

 

 

 

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

 

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[KEPE]

Cruisebear, we didn't get off the boat :). PC was the nicest day and we stayed on. GSC, it was raining, they attempted to get us there but in the end they left and headed to Nassau. In Nassau the day was nice, a little windy but we just stayed onboard. Sorry, couldn't help with that.

 

Meatball, I read a lot about those pretzel rolls too and made it a mission to look and they were yummy. Just like a NYC soft pretzel :).

[meatball_nyc]

Awesome.

Also on my to-do list this summer is the chicken pot pie at O'Sheehan's. Love my comfort food.

 

Was the ropes course open? If so, did you or any kids with you do it? What about the zip line thingy?

I have a *thing* about heights....(yes I know....Breakaway is the largest ship with NYC as her home port...18 decks...etc etc) so the thought of trying either the ropes or the zip line is challenging for me. I want some adventure! If my son (18) tries it I think I'm gonna go for it.

 

I think that's all for now. Thanx so much!

 

 

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

 

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[babygirl722]

Just off as well and we loved it too!

 

We went to Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, Moderno's, La Cucina and the Manhattan Room and enjoyed them all. We also went to Cirque Dreams and have to say that the show was so incredible it made up for the food being just OK. We also so Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor and Michael Finney. All incredibly enjoyable shows.

 

I am shocked to learn that there were 1500 kids on board because, as Kepe said, it never felt crowded.

 

I enjoyed the thermal spa and had 2 massages which were fantastic. The only issue is the gym is directly over the treatment ruins and you can hear the noise. There is no getting around it as it's a design flaw.

 

Also, my mother's room, a deck 9 mini-suite, was right above a speaker on deck 8, and she had to move. Luckily, after 2 nights they were able to move her to another cabin on deck 13 which was much better.

 

Anyway, a fantastic time was had by all and we can't wait to cruise again on her in February.

[LeeTravels]

Just off as well and we loved it too!

 

We went to Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, Moderno's, La Cucina and the Manhattan Room and enjoyed them all. We also went to Cirque Dreams and have to say that the show was so incredible it made up for the food being just OK. We also so Rock of Ages, Burn the Floor and Michael Finney. All incredibly enjoyable shows.

 

I am shocked to learn that there were 1500 kids on board because, as Kepe said, it never felt crowded.

 

I enjoyed the thermal spa and had 2 massages which were fantastic. The only issue is the gym is directly over the treatment ruins and you can hear the noise. There is no getting around it as it's a design flaw.

 

Also, my mother's room, a deck 9 mini-suite, was right above a speaker on deck 8, and she had to move. Luckily, after 2 nights they were able to move her to another cabin on deck 13 which was much better.

 

Anyway, a fantastic time was had by all and we can't wait to cruise again on her in February.

 

 

I had a horrible time getting a massage! It was extremely loud with dumbbells dropping to the floor. The masseuse kept apologizing which was nice as well. Really wish they designed that floor plan better!!!

[cruisebear84]

Cruisebear, we didn't get off the boat :). PC was the nicest day and we stayed on. GSC, it was raining, they attempted to get us there but in the end they left and headed to Nassau. In Nassau the day was nice, a little windy but we just stayed onboard. Sorry, couldn't help with that...

 

Having more than enough activities to entertain you on board is great to hear, actually! Part of the reason I chose breakaway for my first cruise :) thanks for the response!

[bobg529]

Awesome.

Also on my to-do list this summer is the chicken pot pie at O'Sheehan's. Love my comfort food.

 

Was the ropes course open? If so, did you or any kids with you do it? What about the zip line thingy?

I have a *thing* about heights....(yes I know....Breakaway is the largest ship with NYC as her home port...18 decks...etc etc) so the thought of trying either the ropes or the zip line is challenging for me. I want some adventure! If my son (18) tries it I think I'm gonna go for it.

 

I think that's all for now. Thanx so much!

 

~robin and brian

(summertime jersey shore beach bums)

 

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

 

The food at O'Sheehans was consistently good really. Do NOT, NOT, NOT, miss that pot pie. Everything you want in a pot pie, crumbly, flaky, buttery crust, creamy filling, tender chunks of chicken, just the right balance of veggies. Excellent, I swear. Really good. Did I mention I like it?

 

Fish and chips were great. Burger was better than decent, usual great wings and mozzarella sticks. Bass ale on tap. Football, food, and fun. Don't forget the brownie sundae for desert! Yes I liked it. By the way, don't miss the chicken pot pie! :D

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[GoAndHaveFun]

I thought it was decent. My parents did their own thing while I did my own thing by walking around and doing different activities like dance class, ropes course (despite having a fear of heights), rock climbing, water slides, and others. I also spent some time playing the coin crasher machine but I have a tendency to go overboard and keep putting in 20s hoping for that $12 roll of bills to drop.

 

I thought the Garden Cafe food was meh and it seemed like the stirred fried vegetable dish was the same everyday. The floors (whether it be outside, in the Garden Cafe or in the restroom) can get unbelievably slippery and they really, really need to put more caution signs up.

 

The waterslides were awesome and I especially enjoyed the free drop ones.

[Captain'sgirl]

Just got off the Breakaway. We had a really great time. The weather was not wonderful but it was ok.

 

Totally full ship and it never felt over crowded. 1500 kids on this cruise. The kids club staff did an amazing job of keeping the kids entertained and happy. DD never wanted to leave.

 

Dinning - Tappanaki, to my surprise was really good. I booked this for the entertainment factor thinking DD would enjoy it. We really liked the food. Enough to go back! Manhattan room, only ate there once on Thanksgiving and it was good. Service was great and food was tasty. Moderno, didn't like it. Cagneys, ok, nothing special. La Cucina, was good. Carlo's. The chocolate canoli was good, the seven layer cookies, stale, the cupcake, nothing special. Garden cafe, loved the pretzel rolls, the rocky road hard ice cream. DH had some crazy fascination with the pizza, lol. I liked the late night snacks of chips and Queso :). O'sheehans, chicken pot pie was pretty tasty. The alcohol, TOTALLY watered down. I don't usually drink anything but wine and when I do I feel it VERY quickly. I was able to drink multiple cocktails and feel like it was just juice. We had a soda card and we had no problems getting soda even multiples at any bar.

 

Themral spa was great. Tiles loungers were lovely, nice quiet space to get away to. DH spent a lot of time in there and it was really nice. He had three massages and said they were all great.

 

Casino, a little too smokey for me. It felt like there was not a lot of ventilation. Even when walking through from one side of the floor to the other I felt like I smelled like smoke when I came out.

 

Pool, kids pool was very cute, they should enforce the no diapers rule a little better as I did see a number of kids in there with diapers on (not even swim diapers, regular old diapers) which caused me to take DD out. Was always able to find a lounge chair and even though the weather was not the greatest the pool area was always crowded.

 

Entertainment, Rock of ages was really good and so was Cirque. We watched the burn the floor dancers in the manhattan room and I enjoyed that. We played Bingo, Deal or no deal, saw the magician Michael Finney (he was ok) and Second City (didn't like this). A few trivia games (fun)

 

Did the pajama Party with Dora, worth the $$. We went to the Character meet and greets, story time with Dora, Nick trivia was cute.

 

That's all I can think of. Overall nice trip. It was fun to talk to people and get their opinions, which varied widely, some LOVED it and others HATED it. Was interesting to see the contrast.

 

Let me know if you have any questions :D

We kind of disagree with you about the crowding on this cruise. With 4,800 passengers on board, and the less than desirable weather, a lot of people were indoors, and the public rooms were very crowded. We did like the Breakaway, but prefer the smaller ships, with less crowding. As for the casino, I do agree with you about the smoke. They did have a comparatively smoke free area, but there the A/C was pumped up so high that it felt like you were in the Ice Bar! LOL

[my3princes]

We must have been on a different cruise. It was super crowded. My 11 year old only went to the kid's club once as it was so noisy. The elevators were always filled to capacity 12 - 15 (sometimes more) people. We were on deck 12 and there were constantly kids running up and down the hall, often with parents trailing behind them, but not stopping them from running. Their feet sounded like a heard of elephants in our room. We did not go to the specialty restaurants nor did we have a spa or Vibe pass so we only had access to the activities in the daillies. We found everything to be overcrowded often with no seating. The buffet seating area was often full and we ended up sitting outside in the cold just to sit to eat. The food in O'sheehan's and the main dining rooms was fine the first few days, but really didn't change over the course of the week and service was soooo slow. Often 2 or more hours for 3 courses. We were a party of 5 and were usually all together. It seems that smaller parties had a better time. I love NCL and would cruise with them again, but not on the Breakaway. I feel like if we had chosen to spend more money on specialty restaurants or spa passes we would have had a better time, but it wasn't in the budget with College around the corner. I also found the elevator conversation interesting. We did not go to Bingo, but one couple was discussing how the minimum to play was $39.95. That seems pricey, but again that is hearsay. We did have many guest relation issues which we tried to deal with onboard, but sending chocolates to the room to smooth things over doesn't actually fix problems. Of course they offered wine, but we don't drink. Having sailed on the Sky, Epic and Pride of America in the past we had expected great things (no big complaints in the past). We spoke to others with similar experiences, but hope that most people had better experience. My Dad and Mom said it was okay and my brother's family enjoyed it though they also found it a bit boring. Maybe all the problems we had the first couple of days just tainted our opinion. We had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours at Downtown Disney and while people watching my oldest son said "It's pretty bad when you go to Disney during a Holiday week to escape the crowds". My husband just kept saying that the Breakaway's motto should be "the Breakaway...line up" With no exaggeration we spent 8 hours of the first 24 in lines at Guest Relations. Let's chalk it up to bad luck...maybe?

[FinlandGuy]

Just adding my two cents here as we (a party of 3) were on the cruise as well.

In the beginning we felt a bit crowded, but soon got used to it. For example, I usually went to swim at 5pm and often I was alone in the pool. As a gym freak, the fitness center was a big disappointment as it's clearly too small for the size of the ship (only one rowing machine, Gem had two) and only partial sea-view from the non-cardio room.

In the buffet we always managed to find a table after looking around for a minute or two. We always organize it so that first we all go and take drinks, then find a table, then two of us go take their food while one stays at the table with the drinks, and then the third goes to take some food. Specialty restaurants were good, especially enjoyed Bistro and I was wondering why I never tried it before. I was a bit disappointed in Cagney's menu because before they had the king crab legs (extra charge) which were great. Moderno was great as well, especially their salad table.

The Cirque performance was probably the best part of the cruise and well above the other entertainment performances.

I share the previous poster's opinion on the Guest Service. Huge queues, over 30 minutes waiting times and not very professional. We should have had a bottle of wine waiting in the cabin, but it was delivered only on the second last day of the cruise after complaining 3 times! They said that they had to check with head office if that bottle was promised to us or not (even if I had copies of the papers from our TA). I'm still angry at myself that I spent a total of over an hour waiting to get that cheap bottle of wine...

I could think of doing the Breakaway again, but not on the same itinerary.

[Bratt]

We also did not have the best time on this cruise. This was our 4th Thanksgiving cruise in a row with NCL (previously cruised on the GEM and Epic) and probably the last at least for a while. We had a total of 4 rooms with 10 people.

We also spent a lot of time in guest services and on the phone while in FL trying to get the OBC we were due. Unfortunately after several days of them "checking into it" even though we had our email receipts/confirmations with us we were advised we were not due the credit and there is nothing they could do. Not sure how that is since one of the rooms actually did receive the credit they were due and our latitudes extras (they were first time cruisers). The person I spoke to while in FL could see the credit but the person that was supossed to process it never put it all the way through just very frustrating since it was definately an issue on their end. Extremely disappointed they were not able to honor this and we are still fighting for the credit to our card since we do have all the confirmations showing this was due to us.

 

The ship was very crowded with rude people and kids everywhere. What happened to waiting until people got out of the elevator before trying to get in or moving to the side! Very long lines everywhere and the casino was very smokey.

 

As for the food it was ok. We went to Cagneys for Thanksgiving and our waiter and steak was good. My sides included a baked potato that was cold. The free restaurants were ok but the menu didn't seem to change and if it did it wasn't noticable our favorite was definately Moderno all the food was great and they have a great salad bar. We didn't make it to GSC so I bought a day spa pass instead and that was nice but had to leave after a few hours as it started to get very corwded and there were no loungers so you weren't able to just sit and relax.

 

I usually don't write anything negative but the design of this ship is a little odd. I would cruise again but not sure about sticking with NCL after how things were handled. We booked this cruise last January and paid top dollar for it at the time. A friend booked in October and paid less than 1/2 of what we paid for the same amount of people and same type of room. Just very discouraged.

 

All in all we made the best out of a not so great situation. I think if the credit was handled better and we didn't spend our first few days trying to resolve I might have a different view. It just seemed the staff at guest services need a little more training on customer service as they weren't not the most personable for the type of job they are doing..

[Warm-Water Diver]

I also was on the Turkey Day cruise. This was my 4th Thanksgiving cruise and I have to say that the weather had a major impact on the overall enjoyment of the cruise.

 

To start off New York had a cold front hit on Saturday prior to departure (from 50's to 20's with wind gusts to 35, freezing in Times Square area). First at sea day was freezing outside. Slides frozen and even salt on the decks so people wouldn't slip! Second day in Canaveral was warmer but mixed with rain. Still not warm enought to enjoy the outside decks and slides (I don't think the slides were open on 2nd day as well).

 

Then we woke on Wednesday to more rain and foul weather, rough seas. GSC cancelled so pulled into Nassau. Wind was whipping, cloudy skies and temps around 60's with rain. Terrible weather.

 

Next day, bad weather continued on full day in Nassau. By this point my wife was telling me how this itinerary and the ship totally "SU****!" Last 2 days at sea guess what? More cold weather and rain! Worst weather I've ever had on a single Bahamas/Caribbean cruise in over 24 sailings. I agree on the weather and many other passengers were sharing the same sentiments but I can't blame NCL for the weather or the ship. YThat said, the result of the cold rainy weather and no Sun for the pool/slides, waterfront etc. mandated that all 4K passengers were inside decks. This did lead to overcrowding, tons of people in the hallways and riding the elevators and crowding the Atrium, Buffet and generally all common places within the ship. Overall I enjoyed the Breakaway and believe it is a great ship but be forewarned that cruise enjoyment will not be very good if weather is not fair for the duration of the intinerary as on our sailing.

 

Food:

Ate at LeBistro twice. EXCELLENT and highly recommended. Escargot, Filet Mignon and onion soon all must haves.

 

We dined at Cagney's although I was not happy with the price increase. Filet was good but I can't recommend this restaurant anymore due to the changes/deletions in the new menu as I honestly don't think it's worth the $30 cover. We basically had the same filet with better appetizers at Le Bistro for 10 less per person. I hope NCL doesn't increase the price for Le Bistro as that will really pose a problem for me.

 

Sushi: as always fresh and well worth the ala carte pricing

 

Buffet: typical NCL buffet food. Menu gets very boring after about the 3rd day. Don't miss the Lobster tails and seafood spread on the first "at sea" day. It was very hard to find a seat but again this was mainly due to inclement weather.

 

O'Sheehans: Highly recommended. I absolutely LOVE the fish and chips with tartar sauce and malt vinegar. Fries are excellent. Ravings about the Pot Pie, absolutely spot on. I had 3 of them, all very tasty

 

Did not eat at Moderno but experienced this twice on Epic. I also highly recommend at $20 cover but as mentioned earlier you won't get your money's worth if you don't go hungry.

 

Entertainment: Excellent.

 

Saw Burn the Floor: high energy and exciting show but just a tad bit too long.

 

Rock of Ages: LOVED IT!!!!! As stated not for kids, in my opinion under 15 shouldn't go. Sadly I saw many young kids (ages 3 to 12) that stayed for the duration but just had a frozen "jaw dropping" face on them the entire show.

 

Fire and Ice: Excellent. She does a great Whitney Houston and the Tina Turner review was equally enjoyable. If you can get a seat for any of their appearances (as they were very crowded) do it.

 

Second City: LOVED IT!!!!! I come from Chicago so I may be biased but my wife and 16 year old son were in tears laughing for both of the shows. May depend on your own personal sense of humor.

 

That's about it and I really didn't want to be negative. Just trying to give an "honest" experience.

 

I can answer any specific ?s if you have them

[Bluegirl]

We were on this cruise−myself, my husband, and our sons, 10 and 8 years old. We stayed in a family suite in the Haven.

 

I thought the ship was crowded. Elevators were always crazy crowded and almost always involved a wait. I usually end up climbing a lot of stairs on cruises (helps offset the weight gain from fancy food!), but staying on Deck 15 made the elevator hard to skip. And yes, the weather was cold, the pools were icy, the outside decks were windy, the hot tubs were hilariously packed with circa 20 people at all times, the room service coffee was lukewarm at best, and the Oceanview Cafe was like a battlefield ... BUT we had a fantastic cruise! It was our first time on Norwegian, and although we will never sail out of NY again OR take a cruise with a cold-weather embarkation, we really did have the time of our lives.

 

I think my younger son would say that the Cirque show was the highlight of the cruise. We were all totally spellbound by the show. My youngest begged to go a second time, and my older son said he wouldn't mind seeing it again either! The food was not all that bad in the Spiegel Tent: We gobbled up the coconut shrimp. As a vegetarian, I was offered eggplant parmesan, which was actually pretty good.

 

We did the ports that "everyone" said not to do under any circumstances: Disneyworld (ship's excursion) and Atlantis (same). In short, both were a total blast. The buses to Disney (we chose Islands of Adventure because we knew our sons would most want to visit Harry Potter World) were convenient, clean and comfortable. We departed at 9am, I believe, and took the 7pm bus back (left at 7:30, so we did sit for awhile waiting for stragglers)−this gave us ample time to see and do everything we wanted at IOA. I wouldn't have wanted to stay longer. We walked and walked and walked. It threatened rain all day, but we only got wet on the water barge ride. I would certainly not want to do Disneyworld in the heat.

 

As for Atlantis, the day was cloudy and cool, with 30% chance of rain, and the tour leaders who met us outside the ship offered everyone the opportunity to cancel or adjust our excursion. (The adjustment would be to a much cheaper tour inside the building, mainly of the aquarium, I think.) I thought this was very generous on their part. I knew that my family would want to go no matter what, however! So I just signed the release forms, collected our armbands and went back to the ship for a leisurely breakfast. We made our way to Atlantis via taxi at around 11:30am. Then we hit the park HARD for the next five hours. The boys LOVED the water slides, which they enjoyed while I lounged with my pina colada in a sea of empty claimed loungers. Then we all did the lazy river multiple times. I am not one for rides OR slides, but I rounded the lazy river no fewer than four times. I would go back to Atlantis for a stay of several days. We certainly did not have time (or energy) to see it all. My younger son and I caught the last bus back at 5:30 after a fabulous day. I think we were the last two people on the ship!

 

Anyway, fantastic time on a fantastic ship. We had really good service most of the time, with indifferent service just one or two times. (Luckily, we never needed to go to guest relations.) I have to say that we also had a great time in the casino. The biggest disappointment was Le Bistro. We ordered in-room from their menu and even paid a premium because we chose the lobster. I found both my app and the lobster totally inedible.

[dizizit]

Is there a photo op for Santa on this cruise?

[FinlandGuy]

To start off New York had a cold front hit on Saturday prior to departure (from 50's to 20's with wind gusts to 35, freezing in Times Square area). First at sea day was freezing outside. Slides frozen and even salt on the decks so people wouldn't slip! Second day in Canaveral was warmer but mixed with rain. Still not warm enought to enjoy the outside decks and slides (I don't think the slides were open on 2nd day as well).

The slides were open already on the first day at sea (Monday). The free fall was great and the pool was heated (I'm used to cold).

[KEPE]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences on the same trip. As I said, it's so interesting how we were all on the same trip yet had very different experiences.

 

Someone (sorry can't think) said La Cucina was always packed. We went on a night, late, 8:00pm, had made reservations before we left and if you looked on TV or one of the interactive stations in the hall it was SOLD out. Yet there were maybe 5 other tables with guests. There were a bunch of available tables. Tappanaki the last night TV said SOLD OUT. I called and had no problem getting a 7:00pm reservation.

 

As for the elevators. So many commented on how horrible. We didn't find that. I don't know maybe we used things at off times? The pool and buffet were right above us so it was a quick walk up the stairs so we didn't use the elevators for that.

 

Kids club the lines were long to sign in and out at most times. But I found just going either 15 mins before they opened or closed or like 30 mins after they opened and I didn't have to wait.

 

I found this to be a very relaxing and fun trip all in the same. We never woke up and rushed off to breakfast, sometimes not getting there until 9:30. Sometimes not eating lunch until 2. We napped some days and usually DD and I were in bed by 10:30 (DH likes the casino). So I enjoyed the relaxation and fun things to do combo. We've gone to disney the past two years on our family vacation and while DD loved it by the end she was asking when are we going home. On this trip she asked if we could stay longer. We had family meals together, saw shows together, played together and had some quality time. That to me is a successful trip :)

 

Would we sail again..... I think so but surely not in Novemeber. I think if we had warmer weather the trip would have been even better. Also, this was my first NCL cruise and our last (RCC) was over 10 years ago so it's been a while. I WILL surely cruise again and without a doubt would do another mega ship.

[NJ Pharm]

We were on this cruise as well, and I didn't feel crowded; however my point of reference is carnival cruise lines. If this was "crowded" NCL style, I'll take it.

[NJ Pharm]

I was on the same cruise and there were a lot of people on board, but after so many Carnival Cruises, perhaps my expectations are different. I rarely felt crowded and only had to wait to be seated the last night for dinner. Lucky for me, NCL provided me with a Bar just steps from the dining room, ..problem solved!