Day 15: Food! Specifically, Breakfast

I woke up around 5 am this morning and decided to tour the ship when everyone else was asleep. Except, of course, there were about a dozen early birds just like me. Nothing opens on the boat until 6:30 am, although you can always get a hot drink and a cookie from one of the various machines scattered around the boat. 

So today, we’ll look at the options for breakfast. It turns out there are FIVE, proving that no one ever starves on a cruise ship.

1. Room Service. Order what you want, and they’ll deliver it. You can complete a form, hang it on your door, and wham! Breakfast appears at whatever time you choose.

2. Compass Rose. The main dining room on Deck 5. The traditional white tablecloths. Order from a fairly standard menu with waiter service. About 80% of the menu is standard day-to-day, with 20% changing. The main drawback – is it’s slow. Like, really slow.

3. Coffee Connections. My favourite. Opening at 6:30 am, although usually a bit earlier, you can get a barista-made coffee along with muffins, pastries, or some fruit. It’s staffed by Rommel and Wendy, who by now know our orders and have our drinks brewing when they see us coming! And as I am writing this, it's 6:20am and Rommel just brought my coffee over to me.

4. The Breakfast Buffet at the back of Deck 11. You can get a serve yourself hot or cold breakfast at La Veranda and either eat inside by the window or sit at one of the tables at the stern. My second favorite spot, as I love the views.

5. Finally – the “Healthy Start” bar on Deck 11 by the pool. Serving, as the name implies, only the healthy things like fruit, yogurts, bran muffins, etc. I’ll probably visit here more often as the cruise progresses, but right now, its main use is if the Coffee Connection is serving Choc Chip Muffins or something I don’t like. 

Here is the hot breakfast option at La Veranda. Potatoes, Hash Browns, Tomatoes, Baked Beans, Sausage, Bacon and Eggs.