Escape to Garden Cafe

Norwegian Escape

Casual Dining

Norwegian Escape complimentary dining options include three main dining rooms, a help-yourself buffet and a variety of casual cafés, grills and on-the-go choices. Plus, the Main Dining Rooms offer a menu that changes daily.

We selected the Garden Cafe for our welcome aboard lunch.  There were other dining options open, but since we had our first general session meeting about an hour after boarding, we wanted something quick.

Garden Cafe is located on Deck 16 aft.   There are many different stations from which you can choose your favorites or try something new. 

Breakfast  Buffet

Most mornings you'd find us in the Garden Cafe before our first general session.   Selections in the ready-made category included eggs, waffles, pancakes, cereal, bacon and sausage.  You could have an omelet made to order if you liked.  Check out our photo album for some more pictures.  Escape - Garden Cafe

Help Yourself

You don't have to wait for someone to server you coffee, juice, ice tea, or water unless you wanted to wait.  Central to each group of tables were silverware wrapped in napkins along with some condiments.   There was a selection of condiments on the buffet station as well, including my favorite HP Sauce.

We always love the baked bread and Norwegian Escape's Bakery didn't disappoint with a nice selection at each meal.   You could also grab a piece of fruit or two for your meal or later in the day.

Walk Around the Buffet

Some common phrases heard in the Garden Cafe:   "Where did you get that?"  "I didn't see that." 

There is a tendency to grab a plate and start filling it up at the first buffet station you see.  I see that behavior on all cruises, and am guilty of it as well at times.   My suggestion to you is before digging into the selections, walk around and get an idea of your options.   Then go back and start filling up your plate.

The picture above is a good example for why you might want to do that.   Near the entrances of the buffet you'll find a soft-serve ice cream machine.   You might be tempted to have that for dessert and if that is something you like, you won't be disappointed.  But, if you walk a little further, you'll find one of the crew serving dishes of ice cream from the selections of the day.    It's like going to your favorite ice cream parlor back home.  You can make your own sundae if you like as well.

Review of Garden Cafe

There was a decent selection of food at each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).   We were a little disappointed with some of the items, however.   The scrambled eggs weren't cooked to our liking, perhaps because they needed to stay under the lights for extended period of time.  We like crispy bacon, which wasn't always available.  Overall, we were happy with the variety and quality of the food.  Food is so subjective, but we think most people would find something they would like to eat.

The dining room itself is a bit hard to navigate at times - especially in prime times.   There are some wooden barriers that in our opinion should be removed.   They block the natural flow of traffic.  On the positive side there are a number of different seating arrangements, ranging from handicap accessible tables, to high-top tables, which could accommodate any size group.

Norwegian Cruise Line is well known for Freestyle Dining.  

Click (here) or Image to the left for more stories and photos from our conference cruise on Norwegian Escape.   Check out this brand new ship from Norwegian Cruise Line.

If you have specific questions about the ship, the itinerary, or cruising in general, we'd love to hear from you.

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Dining at Sea Part 2

Welcome Aboard

You've just gotten onboard your ship and you discover that it will still be some time before your cabins are ready.   But not to worry, the crew has gotten a buffet lunch ready for you to enjoy while you wait.

There isn't a set menu on cruise lines, but you'll usually find a wide variety of menu items to chose from.  Usually you'll be able to have soup and salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and other fast food items.   There will be several entrees to select from usually including some kind of carved meat such as beef, turkey, or ham.

You might find some ethnic dishes such as Mexican or Asian.   If you are looking for something lighter, you may find sandwiches ready made or made to order.

Finish your meal with some dessert treats such as ice cream, frozen yogurt, cakes, cookies and other baked treats. 

If you have food allergies, the Maitre d' will be able to assist you.

Garden Cafe

We've just returned from a Seminar at Sea onboard Norwegian Jewel, so we've included images we took during our cruise. You've already discovered that you can have your welcome aboard lunch in the Garden Cafe, but did you know that you can start your day with breakfast there and even have a more casual dinner there as well.

One night during our cruise they had a pig roast for the main carving item.   That brought back memories of our very first cruise on Yankee Trader, a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise where that was our Captain's Dinner Party.

Next we'll look at some of the more formal dinner settings, such as the traditional dining room.

NCL Dawn Bermuda - Garden Cafe & Other Dining

Regardless of the cruise we are on, it seems that we eat many meals in the buffet. Garden Cafe is the buffet dining venue on Norwegian Dawn.

We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Garden Cafe several times during the cruise. Made to order omelets and waffles are available during breakfast hours along with a good selection of typical foods. For lunch and dinner there is a wide selection of hot and cold entrees including made to order pasta. Don't forget about the dessert selections including ice cream, sherbets, cookies, and sugar-free items.

NCL didn't forget about the kids when designing the Garden Cafe. They have their own private kid-sized section with their own buffet line. It is stocked with kid-friendly favorites.

Bimini Grill, located poolside at the Oasis Pool, is a great place to grab a burger, grilled chicken, hot dog, and fries. The advantage over Garden Cafe is that you don't have to adhere to any dress code. After you are done with your burger and fries, stop by at Sprinkles Ice Cream Bar which saves you a trip to the Garden Cafe.

We aren't sushi or tapas fans, so we didn't try Salsa Tapas Bar or the Sushi and Sashimi Bar during our cruise. Both of these venues were pretty busy each night, so it would appear that those that eat there were enjoying the food.

For those that want main dining room service, there are two choices onboard the Dawn: Aqua Main Dining Room and Venetian Main Dining Room. We didn't eat at either of this on this cruise, but have eaten at them in the past. A couple things to note are the menu doesn't change during the cruise and both of the main dining rooms have the identical menu. You'd want to be sure to include other dining choices during your cruise or you would most likely be disappointed.

We also didn't eat at Bamboo - A Taste of Asia since we opted for Teppanyaki instead. The menu did look appealing but we simply didn't have enough time to eat everywhere.

We did have one disappointment one evening. That was at Blue Lagoon. We had eaten there on Norwegian Pearl and enjoyed the meal. This time I ordered Fish 'n Chips and was looking forward to it (based on my past experiences). It was perhaps the worst fish that I've ever eaten. It seemed to be overcooked or simply a poor quality of fish. I looked around at others that had ordered it and they too had similar looking fish, so I didn't bother to send it back. On a positive note, the tomato basil soup was excellent. So my advice to you would be to check to see what people have ordered before placing your order.

If all of the choices I've described in the various posts aren't enough for you, there's always room service. We were never in our cabin long enough so I'm unable to report on that option.

I hope that you've enjoyed the information about the Norwegian Dawn Bermuda cruise. In my next post, I'll cover any miscellaneous items and disembarkation.