Dawn Menus -New, Revised, Final

[missdenise]

I must be missing something here... where do you see the Lobster every night? Could you point me in the right direction?

 

Thanks!!

[njhorseman]

I must be missing something here... where do you see the Lobster every night? Could you point me in the right direction?

 

Thanks!!

 

 

You're not missing anything. Lobster was on the menu every night under the Dawn's original experimental menus, but not this version.

[weltek]

My DD went on her honeymoon cruise this summer, and came home having had a wonderful time -- but asking why they didn't do any of the wonderful desserts that she remembered from her 2 previous cruises, like bananas flambe and baked alaska (without the singing waiters).

 

Maybe the 1980s wanted their desserts back.

 

Sorry, couldn't resist! :-) There are just certain foods that are very "decade" associated and along with "cherries jubilee," I think those are very associated with the 70s and 80s.

[missdenise]

You're not missing anything. Lobster was on the menu every night under the Dawn's original experimental menus, but not this version.

 

Thanks!

Then maybe they should change their advertising? This is our first time on NCL and I am not at all impressed with the menus compared to our other cruises.

[ute_fan]

Maybe the 1980s wanted their desserts back.

 

Sorry, couldn't resist! :-) There are just certain foods that are very "decade" associated and along with "cherries jubilee," I think those are very associated with the 70s and 80s.

 

LOL! It wasn't even the specific desserts she cared about -- she just didn't think the ones offered on their cruise were anywhere near as interesting as the ones she'd had on her two previous cruises. She cruised once in 2004 and again in 2005, so it had been a while since she'd been on a ship.

[njhorseman]

Thanks!

Then maybe they should change their advertising? This is our first time on NCL and I am not at all impressed with the menus compared to our other cruises.

 

 

Actually, in their advertising they are referring to lobster being available somewhere on the ship every night...which is technically true because it is available in specialty restaurants...at an additional charge.

 

Personally, as a long-time NCL cruiser I do not care for the latest series of menu experiments that have been conducted on the Dawn this summer. While this "final" version offers more variety than the earlier versions, it just doesn't meet my expectations for the types and variety of dishes I am used to seeing on a cruise ship.

[missdenise]

Actually, in their advertising they are referring to lobster being available somewhere on the ship every night...which is technically true because it is available in specialty restaurants...at an additional charge.

 

Personally, as a long-time NCL cruiser I do not care for the latest series of menu experiments that have been conducted on the Dawn this summer. While this "final" version offers more variety than the earlier versions, it just doesn't meet my expectations for the types and variety of dishes I am used to seeing on a cruise ship.

 

 

I agree 100! AND no escargot!! As someone else mentioned, it does seem like a ploy to get you to spend more money and eat at the specialty restaurants.

[ute_fan]

Personally, as a long-time NCL cruiser I do not care for the latest series of menu experiments that have been conducted on the Dawn this summer. While this "final" version offers more variety than the earlier versions, it just doesn't meet my expectations for the types and variety of dishes I am used to seeing on a cruise ship.

 

Very well said! I'm in total agreement with you.

[weltek]

LOL! It wasn't even the specific desserts she cared about -- she just didn't think the ones offered on their cruise were anywhere near as interesting as the ones she'd had on her two previous cruises.

 

I agree, nothing seems quite as "elaborate" in the MDR as it used to be. I think it has been a way to cut back costs, while still maintaining a profit margin for NCL. I find myself having to readjust my expectations, as I've only been able to take my last two (and upcoming January) cruises because they were so darn cheap for the base fare. I know I paid significantly more for my first NCL cruise back in 2000. So, I'm ok with less fancy food in the MDR (and I'll pay $40 for me and DH to have a fancy dinner or two on a 7 nighter if we feel the need) if it means I can cruise more often!!! When I talk to everyone about cruising the lines in NCL's category, I tell them all these things, so their expectations are "reasonable."

 

The only thing I find that's slipped for no reason is staff friendliness (all my cruises have been Freestyle, so it's not the tipping vs. service charge issue, either). Staff seem a little less outgoing and friendly than in the past. I don't need them to know my preferences and to tell me about their lives, but it seems genuine interactions and smiles are becoming less prevalent as a whole. I've had a few OUTSTANDING staff over the past few years, though, so it's certainly not everyone. Just a general vibe.

[North_bound]

Sorry for asking such a newbie question but I haven't sailed on NCL yet. I'm doing research for my parents who are sailing next month. I see there are 8 menus posted for a 7 day sailing. Is the first menu what is offered every day in the main dining rooms and each of the next 7 menus the specials of the day also in the same main dining rooms?

 

Thanks

[jaja]

Sorry for asking such a newbie question but I haven't sailed on NCL yet. I'm doing research for my parents who are sailing next month. I see there are 8 menus posted for a 7 day sailing. Is the first menu what is offered every day in the main dining rooms and each of the next 7 menus the specials of the day also in the same main dining rooms?

 

Thanks

 

Yes--exactly right...(sorry the top part of 1st menu was cut off in photo)--One (1st is fixed) others are specials each night...served in both MDR..

[North_bound]

Yes--exactly right...(sorry the top part of 1st menu was cut off in photo)--One (1st is fixed) others are specials each night...served in both MDR..

 

Thanks jaja!

[2inTul]

Sorry for asking such a newbie question but I haven't sailed on NCL yet. I'm doing research for my parents who are sailing next month. I see there are 8 menus posted for a 7 day sailing. Is the first menu what is offered every day in the main dining rooms and each of the next 7 menus the specials of the day also in the same main dining rooms?

 

Thanks

 

Yes! You got it exactly. :D

[c breeze]

Does anyone know the current fees for the specialty restaurants on the Dawn? Thanks!

[Tomct]

jaja' date='

Worked for me...thanks! Strangely enough, with these new menus I can find something just about every night that appeals to me (and we usually spend much of our time in specialties!) So much for the "they're trying to force me into the specialties."

 

One of my favorite Le Bistro items last year was the braised short rib + filet mignon. It's no longer offered. After the first time I just said, "Hold the filet." Hopefully, with the short ribs as a special in the MDR, they haven't lost the old Bistro menu.;)

 

Looks like enough variety, too. Glad to see the lobster back to just the tail rather than the seafood medley also.

 

So we're willing to give it a try next month on the Dawn.

 

p.s. OK, keeping this OT for a second, PE, do you know when Dave Heenan goes on vaca? Just won't seem like the Dawn without him.[/quote']

 

My favorite part of the lobster is the tail, but have never been crazy about any "Lobster tail" order I've had, other than a Maine or similar New England version. My BIL had some huge lobster tails for our New Year's Eve dinner, and though they were good, I still prefer the average sized whole lobster.

 

With 5 trips to Cape Cod this year, incl. our annual two week stay, and Stew Leonard's recent one week $3.99/lbs. Maine lobster sale, I think I can survive one week on the Dawn without one. I even made my first batch of lobster bisque that week, and one of my daughters preferred it to my "famous" NE Clam Chowder!!

[dancintomusic]

We were on the Dawn for the 9/6 N.E. cruise, which was our 16th cruise with NCL. We are gold latitude members (a few of our cruises were taken before they were using computers, and we no longer have the info to give them so that those earlier cruises can be counted.)

 

The housekeeping and wait staff on this N.E. cruise was outgoing, friendly, attentive, and did their jobs well. The entertainment at night was outstanding. Because of the new ‘static’ menus in the MDR, however, we probably won’t be cruising with NCL any longer after we use the Cruise Rewards certificate on one more cruise, as we were told the menus were going fleetwide. There just wasn’t enough variety for us on the static menu for 7 days, and the daily specials (a meat entrée, a vegetarian entrée, and a soup) did not add enough variety, either. Dining is the second most important element of a cruise for us after the itinerary. Each of us (5 adults) chose to order the same meal at least twice because of the lack of variety on the MDR menu. Also, all of us selected some meals not because they looked so good, but because they seemed to be the best of the rest, but not ones we would have chosen had there been more variety. The lunch menu in the main dining rooms is even more static, with only one daily special. One just should not have to ‘settle’ on a meal, nor should one feel one has to order the same meal twice on a cruise.

 

I would not like to eat at any ‘land’ restaurant with a limited and static menu for 7 days in a row, and I definitely would not deliberately choose to do that when on vacation. Not only that, but we generally take 2 week cruises; I can’t imagine how anyone could find that menu exciting or tempting on such a long cruise. When you first see the menu and order, it seems like there is plenty to choose from, but by the third day when you have already had your favorite selections, the rest of the menu becomes less appealing and, frankly, boring. The Garden Café is appealing for breakfast, and sometimes for lunch, but for dinner, we don’t want to have to serve ourselves while on a cruise; we would rather go to a sit-down restaurant and have our meal served.

 

As we were traveling with extended family members, we had originally planned to have all our meals in the MDR during this cruise, even though we usually eat in Le Bistro, Cagney’s, and the Asian restaurant at least once. Because of the limited menu, however, we decided to eat at Le Bistro one night, and the rest of our party ate there another evening. I had the tenderloin and accepted the recommended substitution of herbed potatoes for the bleu cheese ones, but those were dry, served without even any butter in them, and I sure couldn’t taste (or see) any herbs. The steak was well seasoned, but it was cooked well, instead of medium as ordered, and it was not tender. (I decided to not send it back.) My husband had the duck, which was okay, but the beans served with it were tough and not cooked through at all. He left over half his meal. This has never happened before, as we have always enjoyed our meals in the specialty restaurants.

 

The cold fruit soups on NCL have always been a big draw for me. On this cruise, there was one available on at least 3 nights (we didn’t always check) in the Garden Café. But we won’t be looking forward to those soups anymore. In fact, although we tried them each time, none of us ever finished them. As one of our group said, “The fruit soups taste like watered-down, low fat yogurt.”

 

NCL has a lot going for it—great prices, terrific staff, lively and talented entertainment, but that menu is a deal killer for us. There are plenty of other cruise lines with a lot going for them AND they have menus with more variety. So there really is no compelling reason for us to choose NCL any longer.

 

By the way, when we asked at Reception the first time for priority tender tickets (gold members), we were told that priority tender tickets had been discontinued; instead, NCL had decided to try something new and let everyone go to the tenders when they wanted to and see how that went. I said that it didn’t seem right to advertise that one of the special perks of being gold was priority tender tickets and then to discontinue that perk. The reception clerk could see that we were not happy with her answer and said to wait while she went into the back and talked with someone. When she came back out, she told me that they had decided that we could have tender tickets, but to come back and ask for them in about an hour, which we did and were given them. We also were given them a couple of days later when we asked for them for another port. I have no idea if they will continue to honor that perk, or if it is going away.

[AuntieBarb]

You can't please all of the people all of the time. :D

 

My assessment of the menu experiments is that the quantity of "always available" entrees have increased, the revolving daily entrees have decreased and the selections over all have less of an international flair.

 

Who cares? As far as I'm concerned, I won't go hungry in any respect and could easily enjoy just the MDR. However, we enjoy the specialty restaurants and are likely to continue dining there too.

 

Conclusion: No affect. :p

[luddite]

Hey Dancin' , the menus sound like what i was imagining. Your recent experience would seem to confirm our fears.

Did the staff tell you for certain that instituting this nightmare fleetwide is a done deal?

[dancintomusic]

Yes, they sure did. Our servers in the main dining room told us that. We wanted to be sure, so we even asked at Reception, and two Reception clerks said yes, the menus were going to go out fleetwide. I asked if they were permanent, and they both said yes.

[luddite]

Durn.

Serious re-thinking is in order now.

[H82seaUgo]

We were hoping NCL would be up to Freestyle 10 by now, but this move looks like they are taking it back to Freestyle 1.5.

 

For those that thought this was only going to effect the Dawn sailings, fool me once. Why not test, tweak, and fool the New York market before throwing it out to the rest of the fleet.

 

NCL reads. Let them know your thoughts. Or roll over.

[missdenise]

You can't please all of the people all of the time. :D

 

My assessment of the menu experiments is that the quantity of "always available" entrees have increased, the revolving daily entrees have decreased and the selections over all have less of an international flair.

 

Who cares? As far as I'm concerned, I won't go hungry in any respect and could easily enjoy just the MDR. However, we enjoy the specialty restaurants and are likely to continue dining there too.

 

Conclusion: No affect. :p

 

I care! Since my very first cruise many years ago the food was part of the cruise experience. You are correct, no one will go hungry, but at home at don't eat at the local diner because that is the same type of food I can make at home. Cruise food is suppose to have a flair - be special - something out of the ordinary to enjoy and talk about.....JMO.

[missdenise]

Thanks for your post - Dancin'

 

I wholeheartedly agree - second to itinerary, the menu is most important. It should be a dining experience not just something to fill your belly!

[snorklinbarb]

We were on the Dawn for the 9/6 N.E. cruise, which was our 16th cruise with NCL. We are gold latitude members (a few of our cruises were taken before they were using computers, and we no longer have the info to give them so that those earlier cruises can be counted.)

 

The housekeeping and wait staff on this N.E. cruise was outgoing, friendly, attentive, and did their jobs well. The entertainment at night was outstanding. Because of the new ‘static’ menus in the MDR, however, we probably won’t be cruising with NCL any longer after we use the Cruise Rewards certificate on one more cruise, as we were told the menus were going fleetwide. There just wasn’t enough variety for us on the static menu for 7 days, and the daily specials (a meat entrée, a vegetarian entrée, and a soup) did not add enough variety, either. Dining is the second most important element of a cruise for us after the itinerary. Each of us (5 adults) chose to order the same meal at least twice because of the lack of variety on the MDR menu. Also, all of us selected some meals not because they looked so good, but because they seemed to be the best of the rest, but not ones we would have chosen had there been more variety. The lunch menu in the main dining rooms is even more static, with only one daily special. One just should not have to ‘settle’ on a meal, nor should one feel one has to order the same meal twice on a cruise.

 

I would not like to eat at any ‘land’ restaurant with a limited and static menu for 7 days in a row, and I definitely would not deliberately choose to do that when on vacation. Not only that, but we generally take 2 week cruises; I can’t imagine how anyone could find that menu exciting or tempting on such a long cruise. When you first see the menu and order, it seems like there is plenty to choose from, but by the third day when you have already had your favorite selections, the rest of the menu becomes less appealing and, frankly, boring. The Garden Café is appealing for breakfast, and sometimes for lunch, but for dinner, we don’t want to have to serve ourselves while on a cruise; we would rather go to a sit-down restaurant and have our meal served.

 

As we were traveling with extended family members, we had originally planned to have all our meals in the MDR during this cruise, even though we usually eat in Le Bistro, Cagney’s, and the Asian restaurant at least once. Because of the limited menu, however, we decided to eat at Le Bistro one night, and the rest of our party ate there another evening. I had the tenderloin and accepted the recommended substitution of herbed potatoes for the bleu cheese ones, but those were dry, served without even any butter in them, and I sure couldn’t taste (or see) any herbs. The steak was well seasoned, but it was cooked well, instead of medium as ordered, and it was not tender. (I decided to not send it back.) My husband had the duck, which was okay, but the beans served with it were tough and not cooked through at all. He left over half his meal. This has never happened before, as we have always enjoyed our meals in the specialty restaurants.

 

The cold fruit soups on NCL have always been a big draw for me. On this cruise, there was one available on at least 3 nights (we didn’t always check) in the Garden Café. But we won’t be looking forward to those soups anymore. In fact, although we tried them each time, none of us ever finished them. As one of our group said, “The fruit soups taste like watered-down, low fat yogurt.”

 

NCL has a lot going for it—great prices, terrific staff, lively and talented entertainment, but that menu is a deal killer for us. There are plenty of other cruise lines with a lot going for them AND they have menus with more variety. So there really is no compelling reason for us to choose NCL any longer.

 

By the way, when we asked at Reception the first time for priority tender tickets (gold members), we were told that priority tender tickets had been discontinued; instead, NCL had decided to try something new and let everyone go to the tenders when they wanted to and see how that went. I said that it didn’t seem right to advertise that one of the special perks of being gold was priority tender tickets and then to discontinue that perk. The reception clerk could see that we were not happy with her answer and said to wait while she went into the back and talked with someone. When she came back out, she told me that they had decided that we could have tender tickets, but to come back and ask for them in about an hour, which we did and were given them. We also were given them a couple of days later when we asked for them for another port. I have no idea if they will continue to honor that perk, or if it is going away.

 

I guess NCL has been listening to your comments (and luddites' and others) since they have now rolled out the 4th and apparently final version of this menu test with much more variety. Before you throw in the towel completely, have you seen that NCL is now offering 6 items on the "fixed menu" for entrees along with the new daily specials - with 3 appetizers, 3 entrees & 2 desserts changing daily?

 

We will try it out on Oct. 4th but in this latest version, looks like about as many choices as the "old" menu. Have you taken a look at the menus jaja kindly posted for us? It's quite different from what you (and luddite) experienced.

 

I also heard the menus will go fleetwide.

 

BTW, I agree with Dancin completely about the priority tender tickets. They are offered for gold & platinum. Hard to believe they would just stop that program as that would leave the GV and suite guests lining up with everyone else?:confused: Can anyone else confirm?

 

Hope the entertainment is just as good next month, but in our more than dozen cruises on the Dawn, we've usually found it top notch!

[dancintomusic]

Snorklin’barb, I was on the same cruise as JaJa, so I had the same menus as the one she posted. After I read your post, I reread my post to see what you were referring to when you said JaJa’s menus were different. Of course, I was referring to the entrees only when I was listed “a meat entrée, a vegetarian entrée, and a soup,” and I see that I made a typo. I meant to write “a meat entrée, a vegetarian entrée, and a seafood entrée.” (I am an editor and really should not have missed that mistake when reviewing my post before submitting it.)

 

All of us in our group had checked out the reviews of the experimental menus before we embarked on our cruise and were sure that there would be sufficient variety, but when actually making our selections (especially after the first few days) regretted the lack of variety. (Our group consisted of 2 men and 3 women; 2 in their 30s, one in his 40s, and 2 in their early 60s; 2 scientists, one elementary school teacher, one an engineer/manager, and me.) We all plan to cruise other cruise lines now because of the new menus that will be going fleetwide at NCL.