Early Breakfast

[cruiser2015]

I'm sailing on the Bliss in January and I'm eyeing a shorex that departs at 6:30 AM (the ship arrives the prior evening)..

Aside from room service, what would be the breakfast options? How early does the buffet open?

[Ellaleah]

1 hour ago, cruiser2015 said:

I'm sailing on the Bliss in January and I'm eyeing a shorex that departs at 6:30 AM (the ship arrives the prior evening)..

Aside from room service, what would be the breakfast options? How early does the buffet open?

I have the same situation in Dec.  the buffet will not be open, but the Observation Deck and The Local Bar and Grill is open.

[The Other Tom]

5 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

I'm sailing on the Bliss in January and I'm eyeing a shorex that departs at 6:30 AM (the ship arrives the prior evening)..

Aside from room service, what would be the breakfast options? How early does the buffet open?

Usually the buffet opens an hour or so before the first excursion.  Sometimes the daily gets the time wrong, so I would check with the buffet staff the day before.  Also, O'Sheehans opens early every day, (maybe 5:30?)  but it's a sit down and not a buffet. 

[hallux]

You're on the Jan. 27 cruise from Miami, aren't you?  I am as well, and taking the same excursion.  I hadn't even gotten to the point of thinking about breakfast!!

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

I'm sailing on the Bliss in January and I'm eyeing a shorex that departs at 6:30 AM (the ship arrives the prior evening). Aside from room service, what would be the breakfast options? How early does the buffet open?

If this is a NCL shoreex, your meeting time is likely 6:15 am and you would be disembarking around 6:00 am. 

 

So,,, Room Service normally starts at 6:30 - not a choice

 

The Buffet is unlikely to be open before 6:00 (you may get lucky because of the itinerary.... even if it an earlybird buffet with basic foods)

 

I don't know what they have planned for the Observation Lounge on your cruise. On our very recent cruise, NCL had switched the Observation Lounge to a late breakfast (opening around 9:00) for cost savings. 

 

Main Dining Rooms (Taste/Savor) will not be open that early

 

The Local will have food, but you'll need to get in before/after they do breakfast change over. You need to talk directly to the restaurant to see what time they will seat for breakfast or stop seating for late night foods. 

[smokeykat]

You may be able to request a coffee machine in your room. This may depend on the cabin you are in. We were in a balcony and had one setup and replenished daily. I would do this and grab the day before the excursion at the buffet some muffins or pastries fruit etc. and bring it back to your cabin to have in the morning.

[mking8288]

On our recent modified NE-Canada itinerary, early riser breakfast was 5:30 AM somewhere up inside/near the buffet (listed in the Freestyle Daily distributed) - not a full breakfast but adequate ... too early to ask since everything is subject to change, with & often without advance notice(s).  Grab something the day before & put them in your cabin, refrigerate as appropriate - food safety reasons, and ask for that 1-cup coffee/tea maker ... and you can have a hot cup, i.e. coca/hot chocolate pre-dawn before heading ashore or to meet up. 

 

Enjoy your winter cruise ! 

[cruiser2015]

12 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

I have the same situation in Dec.  the buffet will not be open, but the Observation Deck and The Local Bar and Grill is open.

Thanks. I'll keep those in mind.

[cruiser2015]

6 hours ago, hallux said:

You're on the Jan. 27 cruise from Miami, aren't you?  I am as well, and taking the same excursion.  I hadn't even gotten to the point of thinking about breakfast!!

Close, my New York friend.

I'm on the previous one on the 12th.

There's probably only one that fits - the Canal Experience, right?

[cruiser2015]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

If this is a NCL shoreex, your meeting time is likely 6:15 am and you would be disembarking around 6:00 am. 

 

So,,, Room Service normally starts at 6:30 - not a choice

 

The Buffet is unlikely to be open before 6:00 (you may get lucky because of the itinerary.... even if it an earlybird buffet with basic foods)

 

I don't know what they have planned for the Observation Lounge on your cruise. On our very recent cruise, NCL had switched the Observation Lounge to a late breakfast (opening around 9:00) for cost savings. 

 

Main Dining Rooms (Taste/Savor) will not be open that early

 

The Local will have food, but you'll need to get in before/after they do breakfast change over. You need to talk directly to the restaurant to see what time they will seat for breakfast or stop seating for late night foods. 

Great and thorough analysis. Thanks, BirdTravels.

I'll be checking out the Observation Lounge & the Local (if the menu isn't breakfast, perhaps the Cobb salad) or any possible early set-up - I suppose with early itineraries, the may be something unique that day. Also, I'm not seeking an elaborate spread; eggs and toast would do.

[hallux]

8 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Close, my New York friend.

I'm on the previous one on the 12th.

There's probably only one that fits - the Canal Experience, right?

Yup - that's the excursion!  That's an early call for vacation but I think the excursion should be worth it!  I hope we get to see the visitor's center for the canal...

[cruiser2015]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

On our recent modified NE-Canada itinerary, early riser breakfast was 5:30 AM somewhere up inside/near the buffet (listed in the Freestyle Daily distributed) - not a full breakfast but adequate ... too early to ask since everything is subject to change, with & often without advance notice(s).  Grab something the day before & put them in your cabin, refrigerate as appropriate - food safety reasons, and ask for that 1-cup coffee/tea maker ... and you can have a hot cup, i.e. coca/hot chocolate pre-dawn before heading ashore or to meet up. 

 

Enjoy your winter cruise ! 

 

4 hours ago, smokeykat said:

You may be able to request a coffee machine in your room. This may depend on the cabin you are in. We were in a balcony and had one setup and replenished daily. I would do this and grab the day before the excursion at the buffet some muffins or pastries fruit etc. and bring it back to your cabin to have in the morning.

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Actually, I don't do coffee. But an early hot chocolate isn't bad. Do they have mix envelopes on board?

Muffins and fruit would be okay if other options are lacking.  😋

[cruiser2015]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

Yup - that's the excursion!  That's an early call for vacation but I think the excursion should be worth it!  I hope we get to see the visitor's center for the canal...

Early indeed. Not my preference. I'll guess that with transiting 2 locks, they need that early jump.

The only reason I could even do this, is that my DW was not interested in any of the Panama tours, so she is passing (along with a couple of other ports). She does not care about technical stuff - and finds the canal boring.  😲

[JennKach]

If you plan the day before, the breakfast buffet will have hard boiled eggs, cereal boxes and cartons of milk, and the delicious chocolate croissants.  I always kept eggs and milk in the fridge so I could eat breakfast early.  I believe the hot chocolate was available 24 hours in one of the beverage stations near the buffet.  If not, I bet room service has it 24/7.

[cruiser2015]

3 hours ago, JennKach said:

If you plan the day before, the breakfast buffet will have hard boiled eggs, cereal boxes and cartons of milk, and the delicious chocolate croissants.  I always kept eggs and milk in the fridge so I could eat breakfast early.  I believe the hot chocolate was available 24 hours in one of the beverage stations near the buffet.  If not, I bet room service has it 24/7.

I like those options. 

Thanks, Jenn.

[tw0sugar5]

I was up during the 4 o’ clock hour one morning recently and they had cereal and tea out already in the Observation Lounge.  An attendant was already setting up the pastries, meats, and cheeses.  Milk cartons were out by 5A.  

 

To note:  I was actually on the Bliss and not another ship.

Edited September 25, 2023 by tw0sugar5

[cruiser2015]

3 minutes ago, tw0sugar5 said:

I was up during the 4 o’ clock hour one morning recently and they had cereal and tea out already in the Observation Lounge.  An attendant was already setting up the pastries, meats, and cheeses.  Milk cartons were out before 5:30A.  

Good to know.

Where there any hot foods on the way?

[tw0sugar5]

3 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Good to know.

Where there any hot foods on the way?

 

They have oatmeal on the Bliss’s Observation Lounge on only one side.  I didn’t eat the oatmeal though (because I prefer my oatmeal on the thick side) so I didn’t pay attention if the oatmeal was available before 5:30A but it should be available after.

 

There are raisins and brown sugar available as accompaniments.

Edited September 25, 2023 by tw0sugar5

[cruiser2015]

11 minutes ago, tw0sugar5 said:

 

They have oatmeal on the Bliss’s Observation Lounge on only one side.  I didn’t eat the oatmeal though (because I prefer my oatmeal on the thick side) so I didn’t pay attention if the oatmeal was available before 5:30A but it should be available after.

 

There are raisins and brown sugar available as accompaniments.

Not quite what I was hoping for.   🙁

[tartist]

Was on the Escape in November with an early excursion, called room service the night before & they delivered a hot breakfast at 5:30am. They were super nice about it & clearly were delivering more at the same time.