Gave NCL another shot - Breakaway Review 01/17/2016 - 01/31/2016

[Cruisin KLS]

Embarkation Day - 01/17/2016

 

This will be my first review on Cruise Critic although DH and I have been cruising together since 2003. (Going to work on this in parts, please bear with me). This was our 14th cruise and 2nd on NCL. We sailed the Sun back in 2006. For the past, 8 years we have enjoyed sailing out of San Juan. This year we decided to try something a little different for us and save some $$ too.

 

Being from CT and sailing from NYC we did not have to shell out money for flights or precruise hotel. Since parking at the pier is so expensive, we parked in Newburgh, NY and used Trailways to get to the pier. This saved money and frustration for us. Getting the bus was easy and the porters take care of your bags for you right off the bat once you get to the pier.

 

We arrived at the pier around 10:30/10:45. Walked off the bus and into the terminal within 10 minutes of arriving. Check in was a breeze. Having mostly sailed RCI and Celebrity in the past years, I liked the fact that NCL takes your picture for your seapass right when you get your cards. This totally eliminates an extra step and cuts down on the wait time in my opinion. Once we got our sea passes we took the obligatory first day picture and got a seat to wait for our embarkation number to be called. I didn't pay too close of attention to the time but think that we were on board by 12:00 at the latest. Went straight to our room to drop our carry ons and headed to Taste for lunch. I had the hummus, shrimp burger and creme carmel. The food was decent, service was a little slow. Nice way to start the cruise.

[cruisingcasinos]

Looking forward to hearing more

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review.

[Cruisin KLS]

Embarkation day continued...

 

We walked around the ship a little to try to get a feel on where things were. This is the largest ship that we have been on. By the end of the 14 days I was still using the map to figure out which bar/restaurant was on which floor. The layout to me was pretty user friendly.

 

Sailing out of NYC was quite a change for us from sailing out of San Juan. We mostly cruise in January to escape the cold and sailing from San Juan you start out in 85 degree weather. It was 35-40 the day we left NYC. It could have been colder but still odd not to be in my flip flops right away.

 

We headed back to our cabin as I like to get unpacked right away. 2 out of our 3 bags were there. We had initially booked a balcony but upgraded to a mini suite when DH saw the price drop. There was plenty of storage in the cabin but I really missed the drawer section that you get on RCI and Celebrity. Larger bathroom was nice but we would have given it up for more balcony space. We have never seen such a small balcony. We were in cabin 13780, right next to the bump out. Wish we had been in the cabin next door with the angled balcony.

 

Muster drill was uneventful. I think that it was around 4:30. We had made plans ahead of time to meet up with some people on our roll call around 7:00 at Maltings for an informal "meet and greet". Got there a little early and sat with a very nice Canadian couple that were on their first cruise. I was really looking forward to enjoying Maltings during the week. DH and I both had the drink package and were looking forward to making full use of it by trying new things. I had my first, but not last, Old Fashioned that night. The Elder Fashion drink that they have on the menu quickly became my go to drink. The cruise critic informal meet up was nice. Met a couple that we ended up spending quite a few evenings with during our 2 weeks on board.

 

We stayed at Maltings until around 9:30 when we decided that we should probably have something to eat. DH and I headed to O'Sheehans. We shared the mozzarella sticks and he had the chicken pot pie while I tried the corned beef sandwich. The mozzarella sticks were good, pot pie okay and corned beef very disappointing. They changed the menu sometime during week two and the mozzarella sticks and corned beef sandwich disappeared.

 

Next up....Sea Day 01/18

[Cruisin KLS]

Sea Day - 01/18/2016

 

We woke up around 8:00 and DH made our coffee in the room. This is one of the things that both of us really enjoyed as RCI and Celebrity do not have coffee makers in the regular balcony rooms. Still chilly so we did not spend too much time on the balcony before breakfast, as is our usual habit. Headed upstairs for a chilly walk across the pool deck to the buffet. The Uptown Grill was not open for breakfast our first sea day.

 

The breakfast buffet is pretty basic. Yogurt, cold cereal, oatmeal, omelet station, eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, belgian waffles, fresh fruit sliced and whole. Not much changed here from day to day. One thing we did start to notice was all the rude people. We spent lots of time over the next 2 weeks getting cut in front of and bumped into. It got old really quick! It may have been especially noticeable today because everyone was still inside due to the colder weather.

 

Our cruise critic meet and mingle was scheduled for today at 11:00. Due to the size of our group it was held in the Spiegel Tent. They had coffee and tea, cookies and pastries. A few of the officers attended and people were able to ask a few questions but they did not stay very long. Someone on our roll call had also set up a gift exchange which some people participated in. There was a great turn out. Probably the largest group that we have ever seen attend a meet and mingle.

 

Spent some time exploring the ship again. There were not really any activities that we wanted to participate in. I think that they did both a Margarita tasting and Beer tasting today. These are both an additional cost even if you have the drinks package.

 

Before dinner we had a few drinks at Shaker's, the martini bar. DH enjoyed the cucumber basil martini and I had the Lavender something. Bliss maybe?!? We then headed to dinner at O'Sheehans with the couple that we met the night before. It was prime rib night. We discovered later in the week that this is the same prime rib that they have at Taste and Savor and it is usually served on the same night. We started with the chicken tenders, had the prime rib and apple pie for dessert. Prime rib was nicely cooked. Sides were nothing special. Apple pie was okay. We ended the evening with drinks at Mixx Bar. This is a nice, quiet bar between Taste and Savor. It is only open while they are serving lunch and dinner.

 

Next up...Sea Day 2 - 01/19/2016

[Gershep]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We loved the Breakaway and are scheduled to be back on her this spring.

[Cruisin KLS]

Sea Day - 01/19/2016

 

After coffee in the cabin we ventured up to the Uptown Grill for breakfast. They have breakfast sandwiches, sausage, bacon, yogurt parfaits, fruit and made to order omelets. This was probably the quietest place to have breakfast on the ship outside of the dining rooms. We tried the sausage, egg and cheese muffin, ham and cheese puff pastry and hash browns. All were enjoyable. I would end up here a few days over the next 2 weeks to get my omelet and toasted bagel because the wait was usually shorter.

 

We spent some time reading on the pool deck this morning so that our wonderful room steward, Emanuel, could do his job in peace. It was finally warm and everyone was out enjoying the sun. It is not important to us to have a seat near the pool so there were plenty of chairs available.

 

We headed to the Uptown Grill again for lunch today as we had heard that the burgers were good! And they were!! DH had the cowboy burger - bbq sauce, american cheese, bacon, onion and sriracha coleslaw. I had the Uptown burger - lettuce, tomato, onion, sriracha coleslaw. Both came with waffle fries and we both enjoyed a salad while we were waiting. The wait itself was about 20 minutes.

 

After lunch we headed upstairs from the Uptown Grill to play mini golf and a game of H-O-R-S-E on the basketball court. I contemplated the water slides but decided that since I am older now, my sense of something going wrong has overrode my sense of adventure :p

 

We had predinner drinks at Shaker's before heading to Cagney's for dinner. We had bought the 3 dinner specialty package before leaving home and booked reservations for Cagney's, Teppanyaki and Le Bistro. While on board we changed from Teppanyaki to Moderno. Our dinner at Cagney's was amazing. Since we were finally enjoying some warmth we requested a table outside. I started with the short rib confit and the arugula salad. DH had the Wagu Beef Sliders and the creamy potato soup. Everything was amazing. Perfectly cooked and seasoned. Main course for me was the 8oz. filet gorgonzola crusted with the chimichurri which was out of this world!! DH had the ribeye gorgonzola crusted which he said was fantastic as well. His sides were au gratin potatoes and creamed corn. I had the mac 'n cheese and the fries. I have to tell you that those fries were the best thing that I ate all week! I love potatoes and the fries had truffle oil and Parmesan cheese. I wish that I had wrapped them up to take with me. Definitely a must try if you love fries! Dessert was oreo cheesecake for DH and macadamia nut ice cream sandwich for me. The oreo cheesecake was the only thing that we were disappointed with. Portions were sizeable and our service was great!

 

After dinner we had 9:00 reservations for Second City. Improv is not really our thing but there were definitely some funny moments and it was nice to get out and do something different. Many of the activities during the day were not really things that we wanted to do. At least the free ones anyway...and we weren't really looking to spend any extra money to keep ourselves entertained. We spent a lot of time during the sea days reading and just enjoying each others company.

 

Next up...San Juan - 01/20/2016

[Keith1010]

Very much enjoying your review.

 

Keith

[deladypilot]

Awesome review so far. Looking forward to more

[Cruise-mom]

Enjoyable read, thank you.

[Clarea]

Enjoying this, thanks.:)

[Cruisin KLS]

San Juan - 01/20/2016

 

I wanted to start out with a point of clarification. The bus service that we used to get to the port was Yankee Trails - not Trailways.

 

We started out our day with coffee on the balcony and then breakfast in the buffet. Lunch today was also in the buffet. It quickly became obvious that things in the buffet do not change very often. Repetition seems to be the key for NCL. On a 7 day cruise it might not be so bad but on this 14 day cruise, by the end we were not sad to see the buffet go. RCI and Celebrity seem to switch things up better. Variety of items offered is better on RCI and Celebrity in my opinion.

 

We arrived in San Juan around 3:00 and were happy to be there after a few long sea days. One of the things that we discovered on this cruise was that we do not enjoy a lot of sea days. Sailing out of San Juan on a 7 day cruise you only get one. And apparently that is enough for us. This fact will prohibit us from sailing out of NYC again anytime soon.

 

Boarding in NYC we had brought on water with us. Sailing on Celebrity we have also had the drink package that they offer. Celebrity's drink package includes bottled water and if you upgrade to the higher package you get specialty coffee and fresh squeezed juice. We knew ahead that NCL does not include bottled water and tried to plan accordingly. We boarded with enough water to last to San Juan and our first stop when we arrived was walking to CVS to buy more. We walked off with a small suitcase, got the water and then immediately re-boarded to deposit it back in our room. It was difficult to get back on board so quickly as they were not really prepared for people to come back on so soon.

 

Having been to OSJ a few times we knew our way around. We browsed the offerings for sale near the port and then headed over to the Hotel Milano. The restaurant Punto de Vista is on the roof top of the hotel and they offer decent mojitos buy one get one free until 5:00pm. We had a few drinks then headed over to Cafe Puerto Rico for dinner. We have enjoyed eating year for the past few years and were looking forward to some traditional Puerto Rican food. We started with the Chorizo al Vino and then both had the mofongo; mine with shrimp, DH had chicken. It was decent but we both thought that it has been better in the past. After dinner we had planned to go to Carli's for the best mojitos that we have ever had. Feeling stuffed we decided just to head back to the ship. If you like mojitos though, make time for Carli's. Making the mojito is an art form for them.

 

Back on board, we stopped at the atrium bar to listen to some music and have a few drinks before turning in for the night. We really enjoyed the live musicians that they had through out the ship at the various venues. Everyone was great!

 

Tomorrow...St. Thomas - 01/21/2016

[ennazus]

I'm enjoying your review and looking forward to more :)

[Cruisin KLS]

St. Thomas - 01/21/2016

 

You can guess the routine by now...coffee on the balcony and then breakfast in the buffet. We then headed back to the cabin to get ready for a day at the beach. Having been to St. Thomas a number of times we decided to take a taxi to Coki Beach, since we had not been there before.

 

We ended up in a taxi with a group of people that wanted an island tour so I don't think that we took the most direct route to the beach. The ride was about 20 minutes and cost $9/pp each way. When we arrived at the beach, our taxi driver pointed us towards a man that would get us our chairs. The cost for the chairs was $10 for 2. There were no umbrellas that we saw but our chairs were under a tree so there was some shade. Once seated, we got "claimed" by a waitress that would take care of us for the day. This was the first time that we had been at a beach where the taxi drivers, chair renters and waitresses apparently all worked together. The beach was clean. It had bathroom facilities that were also clean. Waves were pretty strong that day and we saw a few people get knocked off their feet trying to get in and out of the water. There is a decent drop off as you get into the water.

 

We got to the beach around 11:00am and stayed until around 2:00pm. When we were ready to leave there were plenty of taxis available. We didn't eat any food while there but did have a soda and water which cost $4. The taxi back to the ship took about 10-15 minutes. Once back on board we headed to the buffet for a late lunch. Then back to the cabin to read on the balcony and watch the stragglers head back to the ship. We left a little late as we were waiting for 1 person the stroll back to the ship, beer in hand, checking his watch. Apparently he was not sure what time the ship was supposed to leave!

 

We headed to Maltings around 7:00 for drinks. During our time on board, we were served most nights by Leslie. She was a fantastic waitress and even though we were not in Maltings every night, she got to know our orders and that in between drinks I like to have some water. Her attention to detail made our time on board all the better. I have to say that the service in most bars and restaurants was fantastic. The crew always had smiles on their faces and greeted you when you came in contact with them.

 

Dinner tonight was our first time at the Shanghai Noodle Bar. We started with the Fried Pork Dumplings and Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (which never arrived). We then moved on to Singapore Noodles for DH and Peking Style Shrimp and Chicken for me. Mine was enjoyable but DH said that his had a weird texture and was a little like eating "hay". We also shared the combination fried rice which was great. The one thing about the Noodle Bar that was odd to us was that not everyone in your party will get their food at the same time. The food is obviously made in big batches and then portioned out. So when they serve the food, they come out with a tray of the fried rice and distribute it to everyone in your area that may have ordered that dish. This makes for some odd timing while you are trying to eat with others. The food is worth the odd serving style though.

 

Next up....Tortola - 01/22/2016

Edited February 14, 2016 by cruisin' kls

[Cruisin KLS]

Tortola - 01/22/2016

 

Since we had an excursion planned for today we set an alarm and were up a little earlier than usual. Coffee in the cabin and then hit the buffet for breakfast. We very rarely do ship sponsored excursions. With all of the information on the internet we find it very easy to book excursions with private companies on our own that cost usually less than a ship excursion and last longer. More bang for your buck! We do a lot of research and take all of the reviews into account, both the good and the bad. Most independent operators are conscious of the effect that a bad review online can have on them so they are very careful to work with your timing to make sure that you get back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

DH and I love to be on the water so our excursion of choice is usually boat related, more often then not on a catamaran. For Tortola we chose to do an excursion with Aristocat Charters on the Lionheart. The catamaran was docked at Village Cay Marina within walking distance of the pier so we did not need to rely on a taxi to get us there. This would be our second time sailing with them although the company has changed hands since the first time that we sailed. Their email response was very quick and they were easy to communicate with. They sail as long as there are 10 people who book and the cost is $120pp. This tour was going to Peter Island and the Indians for snorkeling. They also included drinks all day and lunch.

 

The excursion was set to leave at 9:00am so we made sure that we were off the ship by 8:30am. We were not sure exactly where Village Cay Marina was so we asked a NCL employee at the dock who walked us into the information building to confirm that she was correct in where she thought it was. We also picked up a brochure that had a map just in case we had trouble. The new pier expansion is nice. There are a few shops open already but the building is still going on. Having the map was a definite plus once we got out into the center of town and we found the marina fairly easily. Left our shoes on the dock and boarded the Lionheart.

 

Once everyone arrived we had brief introduction to the crew and safety information. Drinks available were Heineken/Miller Lite/Presidente, water, Coke/Diet Coke/Sprite/Ginger Beer, rum punch, fruit juice. These were available all day. Lunch consisted of turkey hotdogs, deviled eggs, salads and cookies.

 

The day started off a little overcast and there was a passing shower that resulted in a beautiful rainbow. Sailing was great and the snorkeling was good. I don't usually spend too much time with the mask and snorkel but love to just float in the water. They did have snorkel equipment available if you did not bring your own as well as water noodles for floating. We spent about 45 minutes to an hour at each snorkel spot. We then moved on to anchor off a beach while lunch was prepared. There was time to swim to shore if you wanted to explore the shop that was there. They also had paddle boards available for anyone to try. Sailing back into port we saw a dolphin and her baby. They circled the catamaran around a few times so that everyone could catch a glimpse and try to get a picture. I think that we were off the boat around 3:00pm and made the easy walk back to the port.

 

After relaxing in the cabin for a little while, we cleaned up and headed to Mixx Bar for a few predinner drinks before heading to Taste. We did not eat in the dining rooms very often at dinner time. Another thing that we enjoyed about NCL were the choices of dining venues; most of which allowed casual attire. DH really liked being able to wear shorts to dinner and not having to worry about having on a collared shirt. We just wished that there was more variation in the menus at the main dining rooms, although I understand that logistically this might we too difficult.

 

For dinner we tried the onion soup, slider, salad with mustard vinaigrette dressing, gnocchi, prime rib, calamari pasta and the bananas foster for dessert. Everything was good aside from the calamari pasta. There was some sort of spice that they used in the cooking that I did not like. The gnocchi was a nice dish, well cooked. Prime rib was the same as O'Sheehans.

 

After dinner we headed to the theater to catch the comedy show starring Bud Andersen. It was our first show that we saw in the theater and immediately understood what everyone had been saying about the seats. They were extremely uncomfortable to sit in for a decent period of time. The back few inches of the seat are either metal or hard plastic that are not covered by any of the foam cushion. This meant most of the time we sat slouched a little in our seats. Bud Andersen was funny; not your typical cruise ship comedy.

 

After the show we headed to Fat Cats to listen to some jazz. The band was good. Apparently it was Charlie Love's last night with them for this cruise as he headed to some jazz band competition. There was a passenger on board who had his harmonica and Charlie called him up to play a few songs with the band. Thought this was a nice touch and a great end to our evening.

 

Next up....St. Maarten - 01/23/2016

[Cruisin KLS]

Thank you to everyone who is following along. Please feel free to ask questions.

[Moby0215]

Tortola - 01/22/2016

 

 

 

Since we had an excursion planned for today we set an alarm and were up a little earlier than usual. Coffee in the cabin and then hit the buffet for breakfast. We very rarely do ship sponsored excursions. With all of the information on the internet we find it very easy to book excursions with private companies on our own that cost usually less than a ship excursion and last longer. More bang for your buck! We do a lot of research and take all of the reviews into account' date=' both the good and the bad. Most independent operators are conscious of the effect that a bad review online can have on them so they are very careful to work with your timing to make sure that you get back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

 

 

DH and I love to be on the water so our excursion of choice is usually boat related, more often then not on a catamaran. For Tortola we chose to do an excursion with Aristocat Charters on the Lionheart. The catamaran was docked at Village Cay Marina within walking distance of the pier so we did not need to rely on a taxi to get us there. This would be our second time sailing with them although the company has changed hands since the first time that we sailed. Their email response was very quick and they were easy to communicate with. They sail as long as there are 10 people who book and the cost is $120pp. This tour was going to Peter Island and the Indians for snorkeling. They also included drinks all day and lunch.

 

 

 

The excursion was set to leave at 9:00am so we made sure that we were off the ship by 8:30am. We were not sure exactly where Village Cay Marina was so we asked a NCL employee at the dock who walked us into the information building to confirm that she was correct in where she thought it was. We also picked up a brochure that had a map just in case we had trouble. The new pier expansion is nice. There are a few shops open already but the building is still going on. Having the map was a definite plus once we got out into the center of town and we found the marina fairly easily. Left our shoes on the dock and boarded the Lionheart.

 

 

 

Once everyone arrived we had brief introduction to the crew and safety information. Drinks available were Heineken/Miller Lite/Presidente, water, Coke/Diet Coke/Sprite/Ginger Beer, rum punch, fruit juice. These were available all day. Lunch consisted of turkey hotdogs, deviled eggs, salads and cookies.

 

 

 

The day started off a little overcast and there was a passing shower that resulted in a beautiful rainbow. Sailing was great and the snorkeling was good. I don't usually spend too much time with the mask and snorkel but love to just float in the water. They did have snorkel equipment available if you did not bring your own as well as water noodles for floating. We spent about 45 minutes to an hour at each snorkel spot. We then moved on to anchor off a beach while lunch was prepared. There was time to swim to shore if you wanted to explore the shop that was there. They also had paddle boards available for anyone to try. Sailing back into port we saw a dolphin and her baby. They circled the catamaran around a few times so that everyone could catch a glimpse and try to get a picture. I think that we were off the boat around 3:00pm and made the easy walk back to the port.

 

 

 

After relaxing in the cabin for a little while, we cleaned up and headed to Mixx Bar for a few predinner drinks before heading to Taste. We did not eat in the dining rooms very often at dinner time. Another thing that we enjoyed about NCL were the choices of dining venues; most of which allowed casual attire. DH really liked being able to wear shorts to dinner and not having to worry about having on a collared shirt. We just wished that there was more variation in the menus at the main dining rooms, although I understand that logistically this might we too difficult.

 

 

 

For dinner we tried the onion soup, slider, salad with mustard vinaigrette dressing, gnocchi, prime rib, calamari pasta and the bananas foster for dessert. Everything was good aside from the calamari pasta. There was some sort of spice that they used in the cooking that I did not like. The gnocchi was a nice dish, well cooked. Prime rib was the same as O'Sheehans.

 

 

 

After dinner we headed to the theater to catch the comedy show starring Bud Andersen. It was our first show that we saw in the theater and immediately understood what everyone had been saying about the seats. They were extremely uncomfortable to sit in for a decent period of time. The back few inches of the seat are either metal or hard plastic that are not covered by any of the foam cushion. This meant most of the time we sat slouched a little in our seats. Bud Andersen was funny; not your typical cruise ship comedy.

 

 

 

After the show we headed to Fat Cats to listen to some jazz. The band was good. Apparently it was Charlie Love's last night with them for this cruise as he headed to some jazz band competition. There was a passenger on board who had his harmonica and Charlie called him up to play a few songs with the band. Thought this was a nice touch and a great end to our evening.

 

 

 

Next up....St. Maarten - 01/23/2016[/quote']

 

 

Can you clarify what you mean by more variation in the menus? Don't the menus change daily?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruisin KLS]

Can you clarify what you mean by more variation in the menus? Don't the menus change daily?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

There are a few menu items that change daily and a few standards. On the 14 days I think that the second week repeated. I had hoped that each of the 3 dining rooms; Taste, Savor and the Manhattan Room would each offer different items each night but it was really the same menu in 3 different spaces.

[Cruisin KLS]

St. Maarten - 01/23/2016

 

St. Maarten is one of our favorite ports. When we plan our cruises we usually pick weeks based on which one goes to St. Maarten. It is one of those ports that is easy to get around, taxis are plenty and we feel safe everywhere. When you disembark, the taxi stand is super organized. There are signs for each of the most popular destinations, you get in the coordinating line and they pack the taxis so that the cost is most effective. We were headed to Orient Beach. Cost on the way down was $6/pp.

 

We had read ahead of time that there was a lot of construction going on. The beach area closest to Club Orient has been slowly eroding away. They basically tore down the original shops and restaurants, built up the beach and put in a sea wall of sorts. There is about a four foot drop from the level of the shacks that they are building down to the ocean. Not many of them are occupied yet.

 

We used to enter near Pedro's and sit in the orange chairs. 2 chairs, and umbrella and 2 drinks with bathroom access all day was $15. Lunch for us used to be curry wraps and a bucket of beers from Leandra's. Presidente was $2/each or $6/ten beers. Leandra's is no longer there. The locals that we talked to were not sure if they would be coming back. Our taxi driver on the way back to the ship told us that the new shacks were charging $2000/month rent. Doesn't seem as if many of the small, local businesses will be able to afford that year round.

 

This year we entered at Pedro's and wander down the beach further and set up in front of Kakao Beach Bar and Restaurant. 2 chairs and an umbrella with bathroom access all day was $20-$25. Beers at this bar were $4/each. That seemed to be about average at most of the bars. We did not eat lunch and headed back to downtown Phillipsburg around 2:00pm. Taxi to Phillipsburg was $7/pp.

 

In Phillipsburg we were in search of the Ma doudou rum shop. It is located at 116 Old Street. A friend back home was raving about their vanilla and asked us to pick some up next time we were in St. Maarten. We asked a taxi driver and were pointed in the right direction. It is a small shop with shelves packed of various types of rum, dark and light vanilla, spices, salsa, hot sauce and other condiments. The shopkeeper was a very nice woman. You can taste everything that they sell before you buy it. We ended up with 4 large bottles of dark vanilla, creme de coconut sauce, jerk chicken seasoning and a bottle of hot sauce. Cost for all of these together was around $80. The large vanilla bottles were around 500ml. each. All of the bottles and jars that hold the products are hand painted. The vanilla came in plastic bottles. We found a taxi back to the ship for $3/pp. Cheaper than the water taxi which is $5/pp one way and easier than walking back.

 

Our Cruise Critic roll call had put together a group dinner tonight in The Manhatten Room. We had a few drinks at the Mixx bar and then headed to dinner. I had the roasted vegetables and goat cheese, shrimp and orzo salad and chocolate lava cake. DH had the onion soup, spring mix salad and bratwurst with saurkraut and warm potato salad with apple cobbler for dessert. All of the food was good. Service was slightly off. We ordered drinks and had trouble getting our seapass cards back. Burn the Floor was doing a demonstration in the dining room which was nice to see. The dancers were amazing. We had reservations later in the week to see the full show and after a small taste, we were looking forward to it.

 

After dinner we headed to Maltings for a few drinks before turning in.

 

Next up...Dominica 01/24/2016

[sjbdtz]

Thank you to everyone who is following along. Please feel free to ask questions.

 

Did you have a good time?

 

 

.

[Cruisin KLS]

Did you have a good time?

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

Overall, yes! We really enjoy cruising. Service on the Breakaway was great. Food was decent. The buffet, to us, was boring. Loved the waterfront area. Specialty dining was enjoyable. Rock of Ages was very well done. 6 sea days were too many for us.

 

The one downside, that we noted on our last NCL cruise, was there seem to be a lot of up charges. You have the drink package but if you want to do any of the cocktail tastings there is an extra charge. Behind the scenes tour - extra charge. Being harassed every time we tried to walk on the pool deck near the spa because they were trying to sell you something. You pay extra for the specialty restaurants but if you want lobster - another extra charge. That is ridiculous!

 

With a 14 day cruise we fully expected an older crowd. This was over the Top though. We had never seen so many walkers, wheelchairs and scooters in one place. There was also a lot of foreign people who seemed to have left their manners at home. They would push you, cut you off and never think twice about it.

 

So I guess that you could say, this was not our best cruise but it was not the worst either. We met a lot of nice people that helped to pass the time.

[Cruisin KLS]

Dominica - 01/24/2016

 

Today was a leisurely day. We had been to Dominica twice before and really enjoyed. It is one of the most underdeveloped ports of call that we have visited. Some people will say that there is nothing to do there. There is not a very developed port area. There are not many stores. There is not Diamonds International. What there is, is tons of natural beauty. Champagne reef - where the bubbles come up from the sea floor; has the best snorkeling that we have ever done. Rain forest, waterfalls, sulfur springs...

 

Last time we were in Dominica we spent an hour at Screw Spa and were looking forward to going back and spending more time this year. We made a plan with a few other couples on our roll call to meet up at 11:00 and get off the ship to negotiate a taxi. The taxi drivers were more organized this year than last. You will be approached by plenty of drivers. We told the first where we wanted to go and he quoted us $20pp round trip after trying to talk us into going to one of the other spas. We walked away and found another driver that said he would do it for $15pp round trip and he would wait for us the 2 hours that we wanted to spend at the spa. We were off!

 

Screw Spa is about a 20 minute ride from the port. Our taxi driver "Father" was very friendly and gave us some island background on the way to the spa. He answered all the questions that we asked. Having grown up on Dominica he was very knowledgeable. Screw Spa is man made sulfur pools. They vary in temperature from very hot, to hot, to warm, to cool. The cost of the spa is $20pp. There are handrails to help you get down the concrete steps into the pools. We spent a very relaxing 2 hours there testing out the different pools. They do have a bar there, which was closed because it was Sunday. They have changing rooms and restrooms but no lockers to secure your valuables. For most of the 2 hours it was just our group of 6. There is fresh fruit for you to have when you exit. Father was waiting as he promised and delivered us safely back to the port.

 

DH and I browsed the shopping tents. Last year we saw some wooden placemats that we liked and decided this year we would buy them. 8 placemats for $60.

 

After our purchase we headed back onboard for lunch. We decided to go to the Uptown Grill again. This time we put together our own burgers with bleu cheese, bacon and caramelized onions. They were really good!

 

After a quick nap, we headed to Maltings to meet up with friends for drinks. Since we had a late lunch we skipped dinner and just hit the buffet for late night snacks after drinks.

 

Next up...Barbados - 01/25/2016

[kenteecruisin]

Thanks for your review - I'm really enjoying it.

[UAL_FlyGal]

Overall' date=' yes! We really enjoy cruising.

 

So I guess that you could say, this was not our best cruise but it was not the worst either. We met a lot of nice people that helped to pass the time.[/quote']

 

Thanks sooo much for taking the time to journal your cruise. It was wonderful. People like you make Cruise Critic work, cruisin' kls, !!

 

Please take a bow!

[b0uncingbubbles]

thanks for the great review! getting ready to go on breakaway in about a month!