Norwegian Breakaway Cruise - Feb. 11, 2024

[WestwegoMan]

NCL Breakaway Cruise Feb, 11-18, 2024

Balcony Cabin 10878

We are typically Carnival cruisers but chose this cruise to try something a little different. I often hear people refer to Carnival as Wal-Mart of the seas but this Norwegian cruise, from people pissing their pants to just being rude as hell, was one of those cruises that had a little bit of it all. Now, before you read on, brace yourself. This is not going to be one of those posts that raves over the food. Honestly, it will be the opposite and just might surprise you.

My wife has Celiac, which means she basically can't eat anything with wheat in it. Like I said before, we do not usually cruise Norwegian but instead prefer Carnival. On Carnival, it has been great in all the food venues when it comes to her eating gluten free. Not so much on NCL. Thankfully our next cruise is booked with Carnival. Even I thought the food on the NCL Breakaway sucked overall. I'm not a fan of the buffet on any of the cruise lines but on this particular cruise, I didn't feel like we experienced one overall satisfying meal the entire time, and we mostly ate at specialty restaurants and in the dining room.

Entertainment also sucked overall. The comedian was funny when we finally did get to see him. Their comedy venue is so small, it was hard to get in to see anything unless you arrived 2 hours early. Thankfully, someone finally had half a damn brain cell kick into gear and had one of the comedy shows in the main theater.

So, on with the show.

Sunday Feb. 11 - New Orleans

Let's get this cruise started with a Mango Meltdown!



For our first day, Sunday dinner, we sat at table 37 in the Savor dining room. (Or as BJ would call it.... Savior)
We had Nester from the Philippines as our waiter. Service was great. Can't say as much for the meal.   
 
For the appetizer I had the Crab and cream cheese wonton. I'd give it 3.5 stars.
For my entree I had the Pork Spare ribs. I would give these 4 stars.
And you know I had to do it. A little Crown and coke to wash everything down. 5 stars for the crown.

 

Kristen had Cauliflower soup. I didn't ask her what she rated it. I was too busy trying to stay out of trouble. I couldn't say "yea" in the restaurant and she made me take my hat off and made me put my napkin on my lap. OMG! Later during the meal, she was being so bougie telling me how to cut my bread. 

She works so hard to keep me from looking like a coullion.

She's not going to like me writing about her and I'll probably get into more trouble but I wrote those things into my notes, on the ship, while I was inebriated and now they have to go into this post.

Monday Feb. 12 - At sea

Monday morning breakfast was at O’Sheehans. I had the American Breakfast. This one was hard to rate since breakfast is usually hard to mess up. Honestly, I don't really remember it. That's why I can't rate it.

That evening, we attended Burn the floor in the Breakaway Theater. This one wasn't particularly for me. Not that i've seen many shows like this but if I had to rate it, I would give it 2.5 stars.

Dinner that night was at Taste. For my appetizer, I had the Cheese Ravioli which was pretty tasty but lacked a great score due to the texture of the pasta. Seemed like maybe it was over cooked. I gave it 3 stars.

For my entree, I had the Herb crusted rotisserie chicken. This was cooked almost to perfection and tasted great. May have been one of my most enjoyable meals. 4.5 stars.

For dessert, Warm apple strudel. No flavor at all. 1 star.

Tuesday Feb. 13 - Cozumel 8am - 5pm

Dinner on Tuesday was at Lebistro. The last time we sailed on a Norwegian ship, the Getaway, this meal was my favorite. Let me stress that again.... The last time we sailed on Norwegian (in 2020) this restaurant was where we had our favorite meal. The steak was the best steak I had ever had ANYWHERE in my life. Did I mention that it was the last time and not this time? Good... Cause this time was very different.

Not much as far as appetizers for me to eat here since I’m so picky. There was the choice between scallops and escargot. Not eating any of that crap.

 

The so called salad was funny looking. The kid in me (and alcohol) couldn't help but think the entire time it looked like the Priceline gnome and I laughed at it until I got a taste of something I didn’t like. Then it wasn't funny anymore and I moved on.

   

For my entree, I ordered the filet cooked medium. I went to this restaurant and chose this particular entree because of how much I enjoyed it the last time. It tasted as great as last time but they had to go and screw up my chance of giving something 5 stars on this trip by putting nasty ass mushrooms on it after I requested they be omitted. So, due to the mushroom mishap, 4 stars.

Wednesday Feb. 14 - Roatan 8am - 5pm

Our day was spent at Tabyana Beach.

   

   

Wednesday dinner was at Moderno Churrascaria. A Brazilian churrascaria type restaurant. Didn't take many photos at this dinner but it consisted of the following;

Brazilian Pork Sausage - Dry but had great flavor. 4 stars.

PICANHA - Brazil’s Signature Cut of Top Sirlon - Over cooked and dry but what more could be expected of sirlon. 1 star.

Lamb Top Sirloin - Real gamey. 1 star.

Flank Steak - Decent flavor. 4 stars.

Pork Belly - This one just outright sucked!! Can't even give it a star.

Pork Loin - Very dry.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Drumettes- tasted great, somewhat dry. 3.5 stars.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast - very dry!

FILÉ MIGNON - This cut was cooked perfect but had no flavor at all. Damn shame since it was what we were waiting for to help redeem the rest of the meal. 2.5 stars.

Dessert - Banana Caramel Meringue Tartlet was just ok. Nothing to write home about.



I would not recommend this as a dining option. Overall service and meal was subpar. 2.5 stars.

Thursday Feb. 15 - Harvest Caye 8am - 5pm

The day this cruise is really booked for! Harvest Caye, Belize!

Our day started with being woken up by a bunch of noise from friggin dadgum Woody Wood Pecker as he chipped away at paint on the ships hull.



The water at the beach was very cool and very murky but felt great once you got all the way in.

 

The pool was great and very refreshing. Very enjoyable day.

 

Even got the Unsinkable Molly Brown to take a photo with me on our way back to the ship.



Lunch at American Diner. We were a little hungry after time at the beach and in the pool.
Had the burger. I feel like I’m becoming a broken record but this meal also sucked!

Dinner in one of the dining rooms.

For my appetizer, Ranchero Beef Mini Tostadas - These were excellent. And one of the few food items on the ship that got a high rating from me. I could have made a meal out of these alone. You ready for this rating? 5 stars.



For my entree I had the Bacon-Wrapped Cajun Spiced Shrimp - Great taste. 3.5 stars.



And for dessert I had the Fig and Apple Cobbler
While expecting the cobbler to be warm, it was actually room temperature. Another disappointment. 2 stars.

Wasn't even worth taking a photo of the cobbler.

Friday Feb. 16 - Costa Maya 7am - 3pm

Three ships in this port is too many. Way too crowded. We originally were going to do the Crazy Lobster while at this port for some drinks and beach time but decided to skip it since the ship sailed at an earlier time than we originally thought.

 

Friday dinner was Italian beef meatballs for an appetizer. These were quite tasty! 4.5 stars
For my entree.... Breaded flounder fillet. A little dry. 4 stars.

Our waiter was Frankie Peralta and was great as usual.

 

Saturday Feb. 17 - At sea

Happy 27th. Birthday to my daughter, Arielle!



Getting closer to home and the water was a little choppy on this day. But overall, not too bad.

Saturday dinner was at La Cucina.

For my entree, Beef Lasagne Al Forno. Service was very slow. 30 minutes to get a simple appetizer. Another 35 minutes for our entrees to arrive. This meal should not have taken 75 minutes. I know, math doesn't add up. Another ten minutes to get the bill. The place was nearly empty.



All in all, we had fun while on this cruise. In most cases, no such thing as a bad cruise. But this one was disappointing and will be my last Norwegian cruise.

Going back to the Whale Tail. 


I want to thank my wife for choosing life with me and putting up with all my BS.

I also want to thank BJ and Brooke for choosing to take this cruise with us.


Note: Links below are for the Freestyle Daily for days 2 through 7 for anyone who may want to view them.

Freestyle Daily Day 2

Freestyle Daily Day 3

Freestyle Daily Day 4

Freestyle Daily Day 5

Freestyle Daily Day 6

Freestyle Daily Day 7