November 2021: Seven Night Cruise on Norwegian Breakaway

 November 21, 2021

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the port. We dropped off the luggage and walked to the Marriott for testing. It took about 90 minutes for the whole process. We had a glitch with my mom's test that was very stressful. We all got our test results and 15 minutes later, she still didn't have hers. Then, a person came out and called her number over the microphone. We all freaked a little. Turns out it was just a glitch with her registration. She was negative and we went on our way.

We were escorted up to the Haven to meet the concierge. Then, we headed to American Diner for lunch. It's included for Haven guests at embarkation. I love the lobster sliders.

 Glenn liked the milkshake. 

The spinach salad was also good. After lunch, we checked in at our muster station and enjoyed some cocktails at the Haven bar. We headed to our cabin. 

We went up to the Sun Deck to watch sailaway. It was delayed by an hour, but we did get to enjoy a little sailing down the Mississippi as the sun was setting.

Dinner was in the Haven. We met a fun couple from Pennsylvania and invited them to join us. After dinner, Glenn and I had a cocktail at the very empty Prime Meridian bar and called it a night.

November 22, 2021 - Sea Day
We had avocado toast for breakfast and then spent the morning on the Haven Sun Deck. We met my parents for lunch in the Haven. We enjoyed the mega ships presentation and tried to watch the Yes/No game but it was terrible so we headed to the Waterfront. We got cocktails at the Sail and Sustain bar. John Tan, our server, gave us all the details on how the cocktails use what used to be waste. The watermelon twist was our favorite. We watched sunset from the balcony and Glenn spotted some dolphins. We met the Captain and had dinner in the Haven. We enjoyed the comedy show and stopped by to say hi to Jerome at Prime Meridian bar.

November 23, 2021 Cozumel, Mexico
I worked for a couple hours since Verizon works in Cozumel. Glenn had breakfast with my parent. We headed out in the Playa Mia Mexican cuisine cooking class. It was terrific. 

One of the best cooking classes I've taken. After a little chaos at the beginning, it was well organized and interesting. Plus the food we made was delicious: shrimp sopa with a tomato chipotle sauce, grouper with a tamarind sauce, and caramelized plantains with a chocolate tequila sauce.

 We came back and went to the Haven for dinner. The Haven restaurant has been a bit rough this trip. It's like eating in the middle of a fire drill. I think they will get a little better organized nas they sail more. We went to Six the musical. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was terrific. It's about Henry VIII's six wives. The stars were incredible. I love that Norwegian has full Broadway shows.

After the show, we listened to the piano player's Elton John / Billy Joel set. He definitely chose the sleepy songs, but we still had fun.

November 24, 2021 Roatan, Honduras
My Mom, Glenn and I had breakfast in the Haven while Dad got a pedicure. We also enjoyed the bacon bourbon Bloody Mary. We walked around a bit and just relaxed most of the day. We had a delicious dinner at Ocean Blue. Then we went to the Comedy Magician. He was not great. We needed the night enjoying some fancy cocktails at the Haven bar.

November 25, 2021 Harvest Caye, Belize 
Happy Thanksgiving from Belize It was pouring rain when we docked at Harvest Caye. We waited it out in the Haven lounge chatting with Elizabeth and Rich. It cleared and we enjoyed a couple hours at the pool. 

It's a great complex and I also enjoyed the Butterfly House.

  We came back for lunch in the Haven. Then we took a nap and finished watching The Jungle Cruise. Dinner was in the Haven. They had a special Thanksgiving plate that was very good. The Concierge took us down to Syd Norman's Pour House so we could get in before it opened. 

The band did a tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. It was incredible. Then, we went to see the comedians in the theater. This is how my Dad and Glenn greeted my Mom and I. 

November 26, 2021 Costa Maya, Mexico
I worked in the morning as Glenn tried out O'Sheenans for breakfast. He had a very good breakfast sandwich. It was a bit rainy, but we decided to explore Costa Maya anyway. I have taken excursions from the port, but never walked around. It is a nice area with a pool, small beach, shops, restaurants, and a swim with a dolphin experience. We had lunch in the Haven. We watched the Ironman competition, watched Deal or No Deal, and lost movie kiss Trivia. 

Dinner was at Ocean Blue again.

 It was really good. Then, we went to see Burn the Floor. The dancing was amazing. Glenn then had a very fun night hitting bonuses in the casino.

November 27, 2021 Sea Day

We had the delicious breakfast sandwiches at O'Sheenans for breakfast. But the coffee was terrible so we headed up to the Haven for French press goodness. We listened to the Captain and Chief Engineer answer questions. We had a fun run at the slot machines.  Then, we tried about Shanghai Noodle Bar. The pot stickers and lo mein noodles were good. We had second lunch in the Haven and I was thrilled to see Norwegian's signature pretzel rolls in the basket. We played Deal or No Deal. I went upstairs to work Then, we headed to Prime Meridian bar. Jerome made us a cocktail he'd been working on with Fireball, pineapple juice, and ginger beer. It was surprisingly good. We played and lost trivia and then went to the Haven for a favorites dinner. We decided the best food on the trip had been the Haven crab cakes, Ocean Blue scallops and pork belly appetizer and Haven beet salad. After dinner, we had one last Haven cocktail and headed to bed. 

November 28, 2021 

We had late afternoon flights so we took the ship's tour of New Orleans with drop off at the airport. The guide did a great job covering the highlights. We got to have some beignets, visit a cemetery, learn more about the levee system, and the history of New Orleans. And then, off to the airport. 

November 2021: Pre-Cruise New Orleans

 November 19, 2021 

We took the first flight of the day on Southwest so we were seated breakfast in New Orleans by 9:15 am local time after checking in at Loews New Orlean. I was pretty excited a room was available.  I chose Luke because I've wanted to try it for a long time. 

It did not disappoint. We had terrific shrimp and grits. After breakfast, we headed to City Park to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art. Our Uber driver was a lifelong New Orleans resident and former taxi driver. He gave us a great little tour pointing out great restaurants and the history of places as we drove by. 

The Art Museum was a mixed bag. I realized I like exhibitions and this museum had a lot of collections. By exhibitions, I mean highly curated works of art around a theme, to tell a story, or give insight. It had a very good exhibition on the depictions of Asian men in art during the turn of the 19th century and how that contributed to a desire for isolationism.

 It also had an incredible exhibition of Dawn DeDeaux's works. She's a New Orleans based artist. Many of her exhibitions were destroyed when her studio was destroyed by fire and flood during Hurricane Katrina. In this exhibition, some of those works were recreated and new works added. One work that really impacted me was a series of glass panes painted with water marks up to the heights of the different flood levels. When you stand by, it looks like a cityscape. 

We also explored the Sculpture Garden. One piece that captured our attention was George Rickey's Four Line Oblique. It was in perpetual motion with the slightest breeze. Glenn said it reminded him of Erector sets. 

I was exited to see work by Jaume Pensa. I've seen his sculptures on Celebrity cruise ships. 

We headed back to the hotel so I could work for a couple hours. At 3 pm, we decided it was time for happy hour. We went to the Peacock Room for Sazeracs - the must have cocktail of New Orleans. 

We met up with my parents and headed to Josephine Estelle for dinner. We had a bit of a laugh entering the restaurant because you had to show your vaccine card to get a wristband to enter. The security guard looked at my mom and said, Sweetheart, let me see that vaccine card. For some reason, that just cracked us all up. We had a terrific dinner. Everyone agreed the veal ragu was the highlight, but the burrata salad was also great. 

November 20, 2021 

We started bright and early and headed to the National WWII musuem. 

This is an incredible museum. It combines oral histories, newsreel, and personal artifacts to follow the war in the Pacific, North Africa, and European theaters. Glenn's review of the museum: 

My father fought in WWII as part of the Army in the 12th Armored Division. He never really talked much about it other then mentioning his division had participated in the Battle of the Bulge,, they had helped to liberate one of the Nazi concentration camps and that he was the soldier in his troop that had to carry the Browning Automatic since he was the tallest.

What I remember being taught in school about WWII is the beginning (Pearl Harbor), the middle (D-Day) and the end (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). This carefully curated museum really tells the whole story of the war, and all the fronts it was fought on. So much strategy and in a few cases pure luck. It is scary to think about what would have happened if Hitler and Germany had succeeded on their plan. There is even a whole room that really portrays what the Battle of the Bulge must have been like. And I got to see what a Browning Automatic looks like up.close and try to imagine what my 18 year old father must have felt like during the war.

It was three years ago this week that we visited the beaches of Normandy. And in February we will visit Pearl Harbor. Seeing these places is a much better way to learn about and appreciate what happened and what was sacrificed for our freedom.

I highly recommend a visit. 

For lunch, we headed to the famous Commander's Palace. Miranda kept our drinks full. She even made up a little hand signal if we needed another drink and she was across the room. 

We enjoyed the live music, though someone had to be talked out of requesting the "music from Deliverance". 

After lunch, we went to Harrah's casino and had a lot of fun on the penny slots. For dinner, we went to Gordon Biersch brewery. 

November 21, 2021 

We have an easy morning with breakfast at the hotel and then we head over to the pier to board the Norwegian Breakaway for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise. 

Glenn's Thoughts on the Odyssey of the Seas

Had a great relaxing sea day.  A mixture of trivia (we were the winners!!), game shows, enjoying the suite sun deck, trying a new take on a Pain Killer and enjoying our beautiful balcony with some scenic cruising past Cuba. 

Very nice lunch at Chops Grill.  We have the Unlimited Dining Package so didn't have to pay the cover charge.  We paid $174/person for the whole cruise to be able to eat at a speciality restaurant each day for lunch and dinner.  We are finding it a very good deal. 

Beautiful ship. Lots of stuff to do. Or just do nothing and relax.  Lots of shaded places to sit.  

One thing is the ship doesn't have is an outdoor pool grill with burgers, hot dogs or chicken sandwiches.  It looks like that is supposed fo be Splashaway Cafe.  And while that venue is listed on the elevator deck plan it doesn't exist in real life.  I believe this is the first ship I have been on that doesn't have such a venue.  There is El Local Fresh that has great looking poolside tacos and burritos.  But if you do want a burger or hot dog, I think you will need to head inside to the buffet.  Other seasoned RCCL cruisers can jump in here and help out if there is another venue offering burgers and hot dogs poolside.

More from the Odyssey of the Seas . . . .

Had some very good sashimi and sushi at Izumi on our first sea day. Some very creative dishes.  My favorite was the Champagne Lobster Roll. 

They also have a starter called Crispy Chicken Kara-Age.  This is a very of Hawaiian Fried Chicken.  Boneless chicken thighs marinates in soy, ginger and mirin. Then dredged in corn starch and deep fried.  Served with Thai chili sauce.  I have made this at home with a similar marinade but my sauce is soy, lemon and seasoned rice wine vinegar.  Also I dredge in potato starch and sesame seeds for extra crunch.  Also gluten free (as long as you use gluten free soy sauce).  

Also had a very good lasagna last night at Giovanni's. Thin layers of pasta with a flavorful Bolognese. And tons of cheese.  They use cottage cheese as well as mozzarella.  Some may prefer ricotta but I prefer the use of cottage cheese.  

Today we are in Costa Maya.  Not planning to get off the ship - at least voluntarily. :-)  Today we will spend the morning in the Solarium since most guests will be off exploring.  Will try the Solarium Cafe and hopefully the 270 Cafe for a salad.  And maybe Sorrento's for a slice!!  Lots of food venues to check out today. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head back to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

More from the Odyssey of the Seas . . . . .

The Odyssey of the Seas has the best designed Solarium I have ever seen.  It is all the way forward on deck 14.  Dual hot tubs on either side.  A tiered regular pool with individual infinity pools. And a bar!!   And there is a bistro which serves breakfast, lunch (sea days only) and dinner.  And it is adults only.   And the views!!  

Would be a great ship for Alaska!!

During boarding, all vaccinated guests were given a purple colored wrist band to identify that status.  Many venues on the ship are designated as vaccinated only or for everyone. The theater is an example where the lower level is for vaccinated guests and the upper (balcony) is for everyone.  They scan your seapass.in order to enter this venue.   They enforced masks in the upper area. Lower level was "masks recommended". The Music Hall is the same.  Deck 3 is for vaccinated and Deck 4 is for everyone.  We are vaccinated but preferred that theater balcony since it was less crowded.  

The Solarium is an example where it is supposed to be only for vaccinated guests although there are no crew members checking. I also saw in the program that early seating in the MDR was only for vaccinated guests.  As in real life, you need to monitor and be in charge of your own health and safety.

Final thoughts on the Odyssey of the Seas . . .

Had such a smooth debarkation at Port Everglades. They used facial recognition once you claimed your luggage. After you cleared that, it was straight outside to your transportation.  In our case we took a taxi to Fort Lauderdale airport to catch the Red Coach bus to Tampa. We left our cabin at 8:45 and were at the FLL bus stop at 9:15.  Bus picked us up at 9:40.  Walked in our front door at 3PM.  This is the third time using this bus.  It was a really great option for us this time since we had flown out to LAX to catch the Emerald Princess to Port Everglades.  Then were on the Odyssey.  Prices vary depending on how far in advance you book. 

We went to three shows on the Odyssey plus a magic show by Hector is Magic.  All the shows were very impressive. "The Book" was in the 270 venue and really utilized all the special features they added to that space.  Also saw "Showgirls" and "The Effectors" in the main theater.  The latter was very well done, especially considering they had only launched it the prior cruise. Needs some tweaking and there were some issues with the lighting queues in one of the numbers.  But that didn't detract from the energy of the performances.  

I was very impressed with all the food.  We are in all the specialty restaurants except Teppanyaki.  Most impressed with Wonderland.  Some very creative and delicious dishes.  The Tomato Water and Deconstructed Caprese was my favorite.  The Italian dishes at Giovanni's were also very good.  I didn't have a bad meal.  We had the Unlimited Dining Package. We paid $174/person for the six night cruise.  With that we could lunch and dinner each day at a specialty restaurant.  We also got $20/person credit to use for lunch or dinner at Playmakers Sports Bar.   We found this a great value.  Without the package, the restaurants would have cost $256/person. The UDP also gives you a 40% discount on any bottles of wine under $100 while you are dining.   We didn't have the drink package so took advantage of that twice. 

Playmakers has some very good food.  The Truffle Burger was super flavorful.  The BBQ chicken wings were crispy with a good kick from the sauce. And a tall tower of crispy onion rings was not just an Instagram moment.  They were pretty tasty.  

The 270 cafe was a great place for breakfast.  We only tried it on debarkation day. It had about six different breakfast sandwiches plus fruit, muesli, bagels, parfaits and assorted pastries.  Perfect for grand and go. And surprisingly great included coffee 

Only ate in the buffet once for a quick snack.  They have a pasta station which had three different sauces.   The carbonara was not as good as Giovanni's, but it was still very good.   Also found a burger which was just okay.  I never did find a poolside location serving burgers or hot dogs. 

Sorrento's pizza was just okay. The crust was not very tasty.  I prefer the pizza on Carnival and Princess.  What was very surprising at Sorrento's was how good the antipasto was.  They had a great and tasty variety including marinated tomatoes with mozzarella, fried mushroom, cheese stuffed potatoes and marinated eggplant and roasted peppers.  I would highly recommend the antipasto.  The pizza would be okay for a late night snack if nothing else is available.  

Only tried room service once but it was some very good BBQ chicken wings.  Normally there is a $7.95 service charge but that is waived if you are in a suite.  Suites also have the option to order dinner from that nights main dining room menu.  

Each bar has a unique menu with specialty cocktails.  I didn't find any of them particularly memorable.  Most disappointing was the Lime and Coconuts version of a Pain Killer.  I was expecting a cocktail using cream of coconut.  That along with dark rum and nutmeg is a delicious creamy concoction.  On RCCL the recipe uses coconut flavored syrup (the same brand they use  for coffees).    This lacked the strong coconut flavor this cocktail needs.  

The activities on this ship are many and varied. Flowrider. Climbing wall.  NorthStar. IFly.  Tons of indoor activities at SeaPlex including pickle ball, archery, bumper cars and basketball. A huge number of arcade games.   The iFly was not an option for me based on size restrictions.  I loved the bumper cars and archery.. NorthStar also exceeded my expectations.  Very cool to see the ship and island from high above.   Book the IFly and NorthStar as soon as you can.  And both have complimentary sessions when the ship is in port.  Otherwise, they have a charge.  

Lots of musicians around the ship.  The pub had a guitar player.  Schooner Bar alternated with a piano player and a different guitar player.  Boleros had a Latin band.  There was a party band who played poolside.  We also saw the show orchestra one night in Boleros. 

Overall, a wonderful cruise.  Will I book another RCCL cruise?  Maybe.  I feel like many of the features on this ship are wasted on me and my wife.  I would sail this ship or similar RCCL again if the itinerary was interesting.  

October 2021: Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas Western Caribbean

 October 30, 2021 
We spent our pre-cruise night at Plunge Beach Resort in Lauderdale by the Sea. It's about 30 minutes north of Port Everglades. The Boat Show is this weekend so finding a reasonably priced hotel in Fort Lauderdale was hard. The Plunge Beach Resort took over three motels to form a fun, boutique hotel experience. One fun thing is the hand drawn murals in the rooms.