Perish2

We’re not in the 100 cruise category, more like 10-12 depending on family members.  Regarding flights, my husband and I are the age where we’re flying Business Class at least.  We can afford it. My husband doesn’t like paying for, but he falls asleep by the time the pilot say “please prepare the cabin for take off.”  I on the other hand am wide awake. I I’m not having another person squeezing into my seat or hogging the armrest.  I’d rather stay home. 

With th all that said, the food on our recent NCL Panama Cruise was right down horrible. Maybe like I humane. When you look at the menu for 2-weeks and it’s the same menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as is the same food listed, that is wrong on many levels.  Service was also horrible (except for the cabin attendants).

The majority of our cruises have been Holland America.  We were on an Alaskan Cruise 6-months prior to our NCL Panama trip.  Not one night in the dining room was the same.  They had some standard dishes, and it was labeled such but had many other dishes to choose from. Lunch, same thing. They always have lobster night.  No lobster night on NCL.  At least on HAL when you got fruit for your yogurt is wasn’t a mashed up frozen ball of ungodly looking fruit, sitting in a bowl of frozen colored water. 

No matter where you are on an Holland America ship you were asked if you wanted a drink. On NCL you had to find a bar open. If you weren’t at the pool, you had to either go upstairs to the pool or go to the casino bar. All the bars in the center of the ship were closed during the day.  My guess was because NCL gave you the “free drinks” they were not going to push their drinks. 

Lets talk about those free drinks. Prior to paying our bill in full we were surprised with an additional $500 plus dollars on our bill. For those free drinks we had to pay in advance the fees to the bartenders. Of course you were charged extra fees for the free dinners also, some tip.  Also included in the freebies they were giving out besides the supposedly free drinks and 5-free dinners, was ship-to-shore calling. I wonder if anyone even knows what that is.  NCL was pushing using their App. Well remember that free 250 minutes of free internet?  Couldn’t use the App without internet. 

Believe you me if I would have known how bad the food was day after day after day I would have booked with any cruise line except NCL.  I would have happily paid for an upgrade. But even with an upgrade the food and bad service on NCL couldn’t have been any worse.  Oh and by the way, we did fly first class to Florida and back from LA to Portland.  The absolute best part of the entire trip.   Well that and the alligator tour on the Everglades.   

If if I can prevent one other person from never going on a NCL Cruise by writing this review, I will feel elated.  (Two couples from my office were thinking of booking a cruise, they won’t be going on NCL). 

They certainly could be.  No well I would ever go on another one of their cruises.  Food and drink are pretty darn important when you're on a ship for that length of time.   When you dread going to eat which someone cooks and cleans up after you, thats pretty bad.   

I am saying, day after day after day (x14) it was EXACTLY the same menu with  EXACTLY the same food items.  It did not change in 14 days except for a salad (Caesar salad to a chopped salad) and I can't remember the soup, something with corn and went to some other type of soup.  

The main dishes (entrees) did not vary in 14 days, nor did the desserts.   And the same exact menu was at Aqua (restaurant), same offerings, every day for 14 days.  

Entrees were  (same items for 14 days...never differed)

pasta dish (barely any sauce and I'm darn sure it was out of a jar/can as it had that tinny taste),

chicken salad (husband said it was good, but after 3rd time of ordering, he said he was tired of looking at it),

shrimp burger (wouldn't order it),

hamburger, chicken fried chicken (worst) 

Philly cheese steak (husband from Philly said no way, no how, and it didn't look very good, mostly bell peppers)

and I believe poached salmon (never touched it).  

Just got off a 14-Panama Canal cruises NCL Star.  Worst food ever.  I repeat, worst food ever!!!  I think the entire 2-weeks, I had 2 single items that were decent.  We are talking frozen chicken patties, frozen fruit (globs of frozen berries with your yogurt in the morning), only fresh fruit was apples, pears and cut up green grapefruit in the morning, also pineapple slice.  The only fresh fruit I ever saw was 3-raspberries in my drink.  WORST FOOD EVER ON NCL.  I've been on two Holland America cruises last year, food was unbelievable good.  Love lobster night.  The only lobster I saw on NCL was something they called corn and lobster bisque, if it was in there you couldn't see it taste it because the corn was undercooked.  Awful food.  NCL also had the same menu in the main dining room for 2-weeks, only thing changed off/on was a salad or soup.