Photo Review: H, a loyal CCL cruiser, tries Breakaway. Puppies! Babies! Applie Pie!

[kchiumento]

Can't wait to read more.

Edited March 10, 2016 by kchiumento

[ProfCruise]

As we passed by the Statue of Liberty during sail away, hoards of people were snapping photos of this iconic…chandelier and stairway.

 

 

[ProfCruise]

 

The crew must have been worried about a possible lawsuit (How do you think we can afford to cruise NCL all of a sudden? Slip and fall settlement.) due to the combination of mom’s lack of coordination and her taking full advantage of the UBP or perhaps someone observed her at the buffet and feared she’d exceed the weight limit, because every time she went to use the ropes course it was closed due to “weather conditions.” Our advice, if you want to use the ropes course, go light on the sauce or don’t wait until the final sea days (because chances are very high it will be closed do to wind or rough seas).

 

 

We also struck out (wait, wrong sport) with the mini golf course. It was also closed due to wind. That’s okay, you can catch me in the PGA tour coming to the Oakmont Country Club on June 13-19.

 

 

Mom thought the slides looked fun, but I refused to carry her up all those stairs.

 

 

I’ll get back to some additional ship activities later, but next up: FOOD!

[SenatorsFan]

Hello, H! Welcome to the NCL world. I hope that the cheese and orange sherbet were to your liking and am looking forward to more of your great review. :D

Heather

[Mtn2Sea]

Looking forward to your review of the food. Did they have orange sherbet and cheese?

[ProfCruise]

Freestyle Not Free Style

 

Mom was shocked to discover so many pay restaurants (she has a moral objection to paying extra for food on a cruise) when the dining was advertised as “free style.” No, that’s “freestyle,” mom. As we discovered, freestyle just means you don’t have a set time and location for dinner each evening. You can make a reservation (or show up) at any time the restaurant you’d like to eat at is open, just like a land-based restaurant.

 

 

I’m going to start by reviewing the Manhattan Room (1 of 3 main dining rooms) since that’s where we ate dinner 5 out of 7 nights. I will also be reviewing Taste/Savor (the other two main dining rooms), O’ Sheehan’s (free), Shanghai’s noodle bar (free), Uptown Grill (free), Garden Café (free), Bavarian Buffet at Moderno (free), Ocean Blue (pay), Carlo’s Bakery (pay). I’ll also provide menus for Le Bistro and Teppanyaki and a photo of La Cucina (for those of you who are morally objectionable or who received the free specialty dining promotion).

 

 

The thing we liked most about the Manhattan room was that it always opened at either 5pm or 5:30pm (5 on sea days, 5:30 on port days). We got in line around 4:55 /5:25 with 3 or 4 elderly people, ordered the senior special, complained that the rolls were too chewy, and threw down a generous quarter for the tip. Seriously though, my bedtime at home is 6:30pm, so if we don’t start dinner until 6pm (like on Carnival), I don’t get to bed until 8:30pm and I’m a wreck (who, me?) through dinner. So, 5/5:30 worked out great for us. Plus, it was never crowded (shocker) at that time (by the time we left there was a long line of people waiting to be seated). They always filled the tables by the windows first, so if you want a guaranteed dinner with a view, get in line at 4:45/5:15.

 

The other thing we liked about dining in the Manhattan Room:

No risk of having to socialize with strangers. All tables are private, so if you like meeting people and socializing over dinner, you might find yourself shouting across the room to that adorable, smart, hilarious yet sophisticated toddler (who, me?). Mom’s a little unpredictable, especially with the UBP, so for us, a private table was preferred (although we have always requested and received a private table on Carnival so we can’t really give the edge to NCL here).

 

Vegetarian selections (mom and I are vegetarians – don’t hold it against us), although limited (see below), were clearly labeled. This is an improvement over Carnival. Carnival doesn’t label vegetarian items in the main dining room (except for the Indian Vegetarian and the obvious nightly vegetarian entrée) which is a problem when it comes to apps and soups (especially those that sound vegetarian, but are actually made with chicken or beef broth).

 

The food. Dad’s picky, but was able to find a few staples he liked and mom and I liked everything. Dad thinks the desserts are better on Carnival, but they were still pretty good. As far as I’m concerned a good dessert is any dessert.

 

The entertainment. Live entertainment included either a band or the “Burn the Floor” dancers. Classy.

 

Things we didn’t like:

Service was pretty slow. Except for the night mom banished us to the buffet and dined by herself (So let me get this straight, when I’m looking forward to a leisurely dinner without my loud, grabby toddler you speed up the service and when there’s a 3 year old trying to grind pepper into his saint of a mother’s purse, you slow things down!?!?). Mom wrote that last part.

 

Service wasn’t very friendly. On Carnival we’re used to our servers calling us by name and chit chatting, lots of high fives and fist bumps, napkin animals if we’re really lucky, and extra portions of the foods we like. The service on NCL certainly was never rude, but it was sort of flat. Not a huge deal to us, but worth noting for those who care about such things.

 

Only one vegetarian entrée each night. On Carnival there’s a different vegetarian item each night and the Indian vegetarian which is on the menu every night. Although mom isn’t picky at all and always liked the one veggie option, having two options is nice.

 

The entertainment. The French Canadians shot me some nasty glares when I started swinging my napkin and Gangnam style dancing. I was like, “hey, sexy lady, this is what you’re supposed to do during show time.” Not on NCL, as it turns out…oops.

 

Next up, Manhattan Room dinner menus and lots and lots and lots and lots (as it should be) of food pics.

Edited March 10, 2016 by ProfCruise

[ProfCruise]

Let me take some time to respond to all your comments before we get to the food pics. :p Just kidding (I LOVE that you're all chiming in though and promise to respond to all comments/questions, but I'm really busy trying to learn how to spell my name right now, so I want to focus my time on getting the review up).

 

Manhattan Room Sunday Dinner and Dessert Menus

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Sunday Dinner Entree Pics

 

I messed up bad and forgot about taking food pics until after we ate our appetizers and salads, plus I forgot my camera (so this first round of food pics was taken with Mom’s Fisher Price phone camera). We ordered 6 desserts to make it up to you, though. I promise to do better.

 

I’m going to keep comments on individual food items to a minimum unless there was something particularly noteworthy about them.

 

Feast your eyes (and hopefully your bellies very, very soon) on this:

 

Vegetable Lasagna

 

Steak Frites

 

That blob next to dad's fries is the butter that started out on his steak. It was excellent.

 

(Many) desserts up next!

Edited March 10, 2016 by ProfCruise

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Sunday Evening Desserts

 

Sacher Torte

 

English Cherry Trifle

 

Fruit Tartlet

 

Coconut Souffle (a favorite!)

 

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake (always on the menu)

[ProfCruise]

*SHOCK WARNING* Orange sherbet was so 2015. I’m 3 now and have graduated to ice cream.

 

Chocolate Ice Cream

 

Don’t worry though, some things never change, like mom's clothes (seriously, she packs the exact same outfits for every cruise) and my love of CHEESE.

 

Assorted Cheeses

Edited March 10, 2016 by ProfCruise

[ann41]

More More More:) !!! Really I'm so hungry now after looking at those pictures.

[Suze10860]

Psssssst..."H" -

 

Don't tell your mama (we don't want her to get a big head or anything) but she writes a great review. And her sense of humor is da bomb!! I think that you and daddy are 2 lucky dudes.

 

Oh, I can almost imagine you with that hipster beard. You look a lot like my son did at your age, and now at 25 he rocks a fantastic hipster beard!

 

Big Doug and Suze (thats me and my baby daddy) are on the Breakaway on April 3. You're making it sound like lots of fun.

[NJsharon]

hello H, I love your review so far!

We are cruising on Breakaway very soon & I am loving the info & pictures. My girls are now turning 11yrs old & I miss them being your age!

 

Look forward to the rest of the review!

[callmebetty]

Loving your review! I keep interrupting DH in his Bones marathon to share your little gems! Since he ignored my Gangham style quote...I may try it on our cruise and tell him I warned him...

[sayla27]

Curious about the shower curtain trick. What type of hooks do you use?

[mengel246]

Hi! Your pictures are really great. What type of camera are you using?

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Monday Dinner and Dessert Menus

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Monday Dinner Apps and Entree Pics

 

Beef Burger Slider

 

Cream of Endive Soup

 

Slow-Braised Beef Short Ribs Perigourdine

 

Vegetable Stir-Fry

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Monday Dinner Dessert Pics

 

Milk Chocolate Mousse

 

Blueberry Cheesecake

 

Warm Banana Souffle (so good!)

 

Dark Sweet Cherry Clafoutis

 

Hawaiian Pineapple (This was actually an appetizer, NOT a dessert. And not just because I'm fundamentally opposed to fruit as dessert -- it was actually on the menu as an appetizer.)

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Tuesday Dinner Menus

 

I don't have any food photos from the Manhattan room for Tuesday because Mom was struggling with "good behavior," so we decided to eat at the Garden Cafe (buffet -- stay tuned for review and photos) where there's plentiful mac n cheese (for mom) and quick drink service (for me). But I snapped some menu photos for you (H's got your back -- or your stomach, rather).

 

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Manhattan room dinner. Speaking of “scheduled” I wanted to say a quick word about our observation of the reservation system. We always had a reservation for 5:30 (which can be made online before you sail or by phone, television, or electronic board on the ship) at the Manhattan room, however it wasn’t necessary that early. Later on, as it got (VERY) crowded, it appeared that there were two different lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without a reservation. So, probably best to make a reservation if you plan on arriving during prime time (or follow mom’s lame but admittedly efficient example and go early to beat the crowds).

 

Manhattan Room Wednesday Dinner Menus

I forgot to photograph the dessert menus this night. I blame mom -- she was attempting the tablecloth trick.

 

 

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Wednesday Dinner App Pics

 

Escargot En Vol-au-vent

 

Caesar Salad

 

Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio

 

Maui Red Onion Soup

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Wednesday Dinner Entree Pics

 

Steak and Frites (a staple for dad)

 

Herb Crusted Rotisserie Chicken

 

Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes

[boopsahoy]

You're making me hungry! Its way too early for lunch!:)

[ProfCruise]

Manhattan Room Wednesday Dessert Pics

 

Pecan Pie (different, and not in a good way -- much like mom)

 

Coconut Thingy (picture mom ordering the "coconut thingy" surrounded by people speaking French)

 

Caramel Thingy ("Um, yeah, I think I'll have one of those caramel thingies too.")

 

Vanilla Ice Cream ("Glace à la vanilla, S'il vous plaît.")