Monday, January 20, 2014

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Ultimate Dining Package

My recent cruise aboard the Norwegian Breakaway, was like a trip around the world…even though I never got any further than the Bahamas! Each night my family and I dined in one of the many specialty restaurants and enjoyed the cuisine of a different country.  A week after we returned Norwegian announced their “Ultimate Dining Package.”  Boy, timing is everything! And now, having experienced all the different restaurants, this is a package I whole-heartily recommend!

The first night of our cruise we dined “all-American” at Cagney’s steakhouse.  I ordered the shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, and grilled sea bass.  I know, you’re asking how could I pass on a steak at a steakhouse? What can I say! There are a large variety of side dishes to choose from so we ordered and enjoyed several.  My meal was absolutely delicious!

We dined at Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian the following evening.  Now, this restaurant is not included in the dining package, but guests do receive a 20% discount if they have the Ultimate Dining Package.  The  $49 pp surcharge is a bit high, but what would you expect from an “Iron Chef”?  Well worth the charge, and the mussels were my favorite dish out of anything I ate all week!

The French fare at Le Bistro was a bit of a disappointment, but since it always gets such rave reviews from past cruisers, I’m willing to attribute it to an “off night”.  The onion soup followed by escargot bourguignon, certainly exceeded my expectations, but the salmon I ordered was overcooked and the service was inattentive.


I couldn’t wait to try the Brazilian restaurant, Moderno Churrascaria, and it didn’t let me down!   We started with the salad bar, which included extremely fresh salad selections, international cheeses, dried meats, marinated veggies and more. Then it was meat followed by more meat!  Chicken, sausage, lamb, and beef ribs, filet and sirloin were served by the “Passadores”, while side dishes of rice, black beans, mashed potatoes and fried bananas were served family style. The bonus was that we sat on the Breakaway's Waterfront on a clear balmy evening!  This was dining at it’s best!

La Cucina also offers Waterfront dining, but it was too cool for sitting outdoors on the evening we dined here. The minestrone was hearty and so filling I had room for little else.  Nevertheless, I ordered the shrimp risotto and although I couldn’t finish it all, it was yummy and cooked to perfection.

Everyone loves the entertaining chefs at the Japanese Teppanyaki place, children and adults alike! The jokes were a bit corny, and it can get a bit noisy, but I suppose that’s part of its charm. The food was good and despite my worries that it would be too salty, my meal was better than the Japanese restaurant in my hometown.

Our last evening onboard we went to the Cirque dinner show.  Entertainment based dining is not part of the Norwegian dining package, but the Jungle Fantasy show on the Breakaway is amazing and if you enjoy that type of show, don’t miss it! 

Norwegian’s Ultimate Dining Package is available in tiers based on cruise length. On three to six day voyages, guests can dine anywhere throughout their cruise at a set price of $59 per person; for seven-day voyages, the package is $119 per person; $149 per person on eight to 10 day cruises; $199 per person for cruises of 10 to 15 days; $259 per person during cruises of 16 days to 25 days; $299 per person during cruises of 26 days to 35 days and $349 per person during cruises of 36 days to 45 days. The package is currently available on all Norwegian ships fleet wide. To take advantage of the Ultimate Dining Package, guests with a current cruise reservation can either pre-purchase the package by logging into their “myncl” account.

No comments:

Post a Comment