Just heard Uptown grill will be leaving the Breakaway

[janpo]

So another free venue gets replaced with a fee restaurant!!!Way to go NCL!!!If they continue like this in two years from now there is going to be a fee for having a pillow on your bed or an extra fee for having turndown service plus 18% gratuity of course for our convenience!!!!

 

 

 

Freestyle is being replaced with feestyle.

[LMaxwell]

So another free venue gets replaced with a fee restaurant

 

That's the long and short of it

[jscrimshaw]

Do we have a "When"

 

My BA cruise is on May 15th and hopefully I'll be able to get one of those burgers everyone is raving about.. Knowing my luck, I wont. Its not a cruise breaker by any means but after reading on the boards, my expectations were high and it will suck that I cant get a really good burger at sea.

Edited April 23, 2016 by jscrimshaw
grammer

[ann41]

Do we have a "When"

 

My BA cruise is on May 15th and hopefully I'll be able to get one of those burgers everyone is raving about.. Knowing my luck, I wont. Its not a cruise breaker by any means but after reading on the boards, my expectations were high and it will suck that I cant get a really good burger at sea.

 

We are on the same cruise and I have been dieing to try the burger also . Maybe its just talk right now , and it will be awhile before the change . * fingers crossed*

Edited April 23, 2016 by ann41

[luvtheships]

Do we have a "When"

 

My BA cruise is on May 15th and hopefully I'll be able to get one of those burgers everyone is raving about.. Knowing my luck, I wont. Its not a cruise breaker by any means but after reading on the boards, my expectations were high and it will suck that I cant get a really good burger at sea.

 

 

Definitely have them make you a personalized salad as well

 

Incredible

[wndmom]

Oh - thanks for setting me straight. I was confused by the whole exchange...

 

 

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound snippy. The first poster must have read it on a social networking group because I saw the info there a little before they posted. It originated from a regular gem and breakaway cruiser who is currently on the Breakaway.

 

It appears the second poster is on the Getaway right now.

 

I am excited about the changes and hope they are in place by my cruise in June. We have the UDP or I might not be quite as excited.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Bummer all the way around. Spice H2O on Epic has its own grill. On -Away class that venue was made adjacent and expanded. Everyone praised it as an excellent offering. Even if it wasn't so convenient to folks enjoying Spice who wanted to grab a quick meal as on Epic, folks perceived it as a plus, an enhancement, NCL adding value without charging a fee. Then came -Away-Plus! class, and the free restaurant became a fee restaurant. The plus/enhancement/value-add became a takeaway with high costs and long lines. Now the takeaway extends to -Away class, too. Great.

 

When I'm on my Western Caribbean sailing in September and I'm whiling away my sea days at Spice H2O, where am I supposed to eat lunch and not lose my lounger? And I can assure you, when I'm sailing Getaway through the Baltic Sea, I will not have any interest in eating at Margaritaville.

 

Way to go, NCL. Keep pushing me over to HAL with its expanded entertainment offerings, few kids and much-better pools. (Oh, and free gourmet burgers and pizza poolside.)

Edited April 23, 2016 by Cruiser Bruiser

[AdoraBelle]

Argh. My first NCL cruise was on the GA last year, and Flamingo Grill was so good I've spent the last year wondering when they would take it away. Is there any official confirmation of how soon this will be? What's starting to sound like it'll be my last NCL/GA cruise is in six weeks.

[Cruisercl]

Oh no! I hate to see another good thing about NCL be replaced with something we have to pay extra for. I love both the Uptown and Flamingo grills.

I have eaten at the Margaritaville on the Escape and IMHO the quality was poor; even if it is offered as a 'free' option the food wasn't that good let alone having to pay for it.

 

I wonder if the Margaritaville brand people know about the poor quality product NCL is offering to customers in their brand name.

 

As someone else stated, there is a Margaritaville practically in every port with known good quality. I would spend my money there and not at a lower quality substitute. :)

 

Safe sailing all!

[vince_g]

You stated you "just heard", and then later commented you learned of this while jogging one morning. Are you onboard now?

 

Read carefully before you pounce... it was Tinyturtle who discovered that while jogging.

[Casino Comp Chick]

I am just happy to have fajitas in O'Sheehans. I will save my burger for the Frog & Onion in Bermuda, they make great burgers.

[ann41]

How fast can something like this happen ? my cruise is in 21 days and like I said before the reviews on the burgers and salad bar were awesome . That was going to be my go to place while up on spice

[grouchomarx]

I would not mind a change to Margaritaville on BA. I thought the uptown grill was nothing special and it seemed to be hardly ever open. Iam ok to pay a few bucks for it, much like Johnny Rockets on Royal. If it would be open all the time, it could be a fun place. Uptown grill was pretty boring.

[Cruisercl]

I would not mind a change to Margaritaville on BA. I thought the uptown grill was nothing special and it seemed to be hardly ever open. Iam ok to pay a few bucks for it, much like Johnny Rockets on Royal. If it would be open all the time, it could be a fun place. Uptown grill was pretty boring.

 

It will still be boring. Don't remember exactly about the hours but I am thinking the hours were the same as the 'grills' restaurants.

 

The only real change is the sign on the wall; there is no change of atmosphere. It is certainly not the experience/ fun atmosphere you have in a real Maragritville restaurant. The staff is the same staff as in other restaurants on the ship, not the 'trained for fun customer experience in the islands' staff, (my interpretation :)) that regular Margaritaville restaurants have. Also, the food, IMHO, was nothing special and not at all what it is in a real Margaritaville. So you are really only paying extra for the signage. :)

 

I have been to a Johnny Rockets on RCL; they do have the same food, atmosphere etc. as a regular JR restaurant. The fee is also minimal, I believe, not an ala carte menu (last time I was RCL this was the case, it may have changed). RCL did that quite well, IMHO. NCL is not doing this with Margaritaville on their ship(s).

[npater]

Uptown burger is very good and so is the salad. We have been to Margaritaville

many times in Florida and Connecticut and is nothing special, food was Ok. And why have another pay restaurant, don't we pay enough?

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Just guessing but probably a fee to eat at Margaritaville??

 

 

This is dissapointing. I really enjoyed uptown grill. FDR anything for a buck. Hooray NOT

[LrgPizza]

This is dissapointing. I really enjoyed uptown grill. FDR anything for a buck. Hooray NOT

 

I think this plan was already in place back when Margaritaville was planned to be a free venue (and was for a couple weeks). I know the original partnership announcement in Dec. 2014 was for Margaritaville to be at GSC, Harvest Caye, and on various ships (plural).

Edited April 23, 2016 by LrgPizza

[punkincc]

Oh no! I hate to see another good thing about NCL be replaced with something we have to pay extra for. I love both the Uptown and Flamingo grills.

I have eaten at the Margaritaville on the Escape and IMHO the quality was poor; even if it is offered as a 'free' option the food wasn't that good let alone having to pay for it.

 

I wonder if the Margaritaville brand people know about the poor quality product NCL is offering to customers in their brand name.

 

As someone else stated, there is a Margaritaville practically in every port with known good quality. I would spend my money there and not at a lower quality substitute. :)

 

Safe sailing all!

 

 

After eating at the Margaritaville on the Escape, I wondered the same thing. Does Jimmy know or care? The experience was nothing which would encourage me to try it on land. And then I ate at the one in Nashville, assuming it had to be better. Wrong! Unbelievably bad food. I am surprised. I don't know if Jimmy Buffet has any oversight, or if he just sold his name. If so, bad move, Jimmy.

[Sizzlechest]

I totally avoided Uptown Grill because I assumed the food was essentially the same as what's available in the buffet and by the open-air garden cafe by the pools. After reading a few reviews about the place, I was going to try it this time. Guess not. :mad:

[AdoraBelle]

After eating at the Margaritaville on the Escape, I wondered the same thing. Does Jimmy know or care? The experience was nothing which would encourage me to try it on land. And then I ate at the one in Nashville, assuming it had to be better. Wrong! Unbelievably bad food. I am surprised. I don't know if Jimmy Buffet has any oversight, or if he just sold his name. If so, bad move, Jimmy.

 

 

Are there any celebrity chain restaurants that have GOOD food? They might as well just put a Burger King there.

 

(Not a fan of theme restaurants. I want focus on the food, not a musician/actor.)

[Tinyturtle22]

The Margaritaville signs were put up in Flamingo grill for test purposes/photos or whatever and taken back down. This was weeks ago so unless someone else is saying it's now changed over officially it's still just in the planning stages. So wish I hadnt even mentioned it and wont be making that mistake again.:eek:

[Prd2BDinks]

And uptown grill is free . And suppose to have the best burgers . I just hope I get a chance to try it first before they switch it out :eek:

 

If they switch the restaurant out it should at the least be a free one that they put back in :confused:

 

AGREE!!!!!! This is sad, I loved that place. I hope nothing happens before I go in a few weeks.

[SailBreakaway]

How fast can something like this happen ? my cruise is in 21 days and like I said before the reviews on the burgers and salad bar were awesome . That was going to be my go to place while up on spice

 

 

Ann, will you be joining us on Breakaway on the 15th?

 

>> Updated, I just looked at the Roll Call and you guys are our neighbors, we're from N Brfrd! See you guys on board! [emoji3]

 

I have to echo everyone's comments. This really is a shame. I read toward end of 2015 on various threads here about the line transitioning to this "higher end" model with all fresh refurb (paint wallpaper and light fixtures) ships, but at the cost of more a la carte and less in terms of product (like Uptown Grille) to the customer. I fear this is indeed a reality and perhaps the beginning of this movement. Let's hope not. After shelling out the $$$$$ for the experience and cruise, I don't want to have to bring my wallet to almost every restaurant for a lunch like a standard hotel resort. If I were the competitor, I'd be taking note of this and capitalizing on it. As loyal as I am to the brand and our local home away from home ship (see my screename) If this trend were to continue, I'm sad to say the "Allure" from across the harbor in Bayone would be calling my name, and I might just answer. Not there yet, but if this trend continues, the paint, wallpaper, floors and light fixtures won't be the experience I want to pay for.

 

Having said that,

 

21 more days!!! Maybe we will see Ann joining us for one last Burger and Salad!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 24, 2016 by SailBreakaway

[punkincc]

Are there any celebrity chain restaurants that have GOOD food? They might as well just put a Burger King there.

 

(Not a fan of theme restaurants. I want focus on the food, not a musician/actor.)

 

 

Actually, we had been to one other near Smokey Mountains National Park before the cruise. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. I just assumed the bad experience on the ship was a fluke, or simply because of the fact that it was on a ship! But after Nashville, I will probably cross this place off my list. Apparently it is near impossible to maintain any quality and consistency in these restaurants, or, they just don't care.

[punkincc]

The Margaritaville signs were put up in Flamingo grill for test purposes/photos or whatever and taken back down. This was weeks ago so unless someone else is saying it's now changed over officially it's still just in the planning stages. So wish I hadnt even mentioned it and wont be making that mistake again.:eek:

 

Why? I appreciate the heads up. Sounds to me like they are apparently getting photos of the "new" Margaritaville readied for advertising and press releases down the road. This kind of changeover doesn't happen overnight, and they are not going to make it official until everything is in place.

 

And if they operate the way they did with the changeover from "free" to "fee", it will just suddenly be Margaritaville instead of Flamingos or Uptown Grill on some future random cruise, and you'll get the first report here on CC, "live" from the ship.

Edited April 24, 2016 by punkincc