Differences between Royal and Norwegian (food)?

[jonbgd]

Mdr is better most nites on RCCl

But the Epic has the best Buffet a sea and lately Rccls has been lacking

[vermilch]

Our most recent cruise was on Explorer but we usually cruise Norwegian. In the MDR we request low salt menus but eat quite often in the buffets. I thought the food on RCCL was comparable to NCL. Both were good, nothing fancy. We did not eat in any specialty restaurants on RCCL.

[CosmoLover]

I am sure this has been asked many times before, I've tried reading older threads but some show up on very old threads..My husband and I have taken 2 Royal cruises, enjoyed them, but are now toying with the idea of possibly booking the Breakaway (or maybe the Epic) because it leaves out of NY (I hate flying).

 

What are the differences cuisine-wise between Royal and NCL? I notice there is this Freestyle Dining on NCL - ok I get we can eat whenever we want, but is the food quality in the buffets and MDR "less" than what we would get at specialty restaurants like Palo? On RCCL we never paid for the alternate restaurants (Chops/Portofino) so we would like to just rely on the main dining options -how does it compare to the food on Royal?:confused::confused:

[Red-Sol]

I am sure this has been asked many times before, I've tried reading older threads but some show up on very old threads..My husband and I have taken 2 Royal cruises, enjoyed them, but are now toying with the idea of possibly booking the Breakaway (or maybe the Epic) because it leaves out of NY (I hate flying).

 

What are the differences cuisine-wise between Royal and NCL? I notice there is this Freestyle Dining on NCL - ok I get we can eat whenever we want, but is the food quality in the buffets and MDR "less" than what we would get at specialty restaurants like Palo? On RCCL we never paid for the alternate restaurants (Chops/Portofino) so we would like to just rely on the main dining options -how does it compare to the food on Royal?:confused::confused:

 

Even food is subjective but in my experience I found the food to be more or less equal in the MDR for both lines.

 

I felt the buffet food was better on NCL than RCCL.

 

Specialty restaurants (which we rarely use) usually are a bit better on both lines.

 

We aren't foodies though really and usually are perfectly content with the buffets or MDR.

[rjm11]

I thought the food was better in both MDR and specialty restaurants on NCL. I wasn't impressed with RCCL's selection or quality- but it's been a couple years since I've tried it.

[phoenix1181]

We thought MDR was better on NCL but liked Royal's Windjammer buffet better..........

[hsmcruise]

Not even close. NCL wins by a great margin. We have been on 2 NCL an 3 RCL.

Last was epic, and the only criticism, was that the specialty restaurants, were a little disappointing (moderno, teppanyaki , steakhouse ) the steakhouse didn't

Serve porterhouse , but my filet milion was very good. On RCL the lunch in the dining room (oasis) was very good. The buffet was horrible for breakfast . We liked chops (specialty steakhouse ). Couldn't find anything great for lunch in the buffet on the Explorer. The turkey sandwich was 1 slice of turkey and a roll.

All the lines quality has gone down, but the cruise rate hasn't gone up significantly.

[kitsVA]

Mdr is better most nites on RCCl

But the Epic has the best Buffet a sea and lately Rccls has been lacking

 

Buffet wins on NCL. Especially, the breakfast. MDR's is very personal preferences but we liked both.

 

Our only experience with RCL is Allure and we were surprised how bad the buffet was compared to say Epic or even Pearl. But Allure had hot dogs, pizza and a deli place all scatered which maybe good for some but for families it may be a pain. For example, on several days my son wanted to eat at hot dog place, and daughter at pizza. So, we had to break up to eat lunch. Wish they were all close together so, we can still sit together and eat.

[jdvmd]

I think NCL is much better than RCCL. Remember the famous "Ranch Steak?" Yuck. And if you want a better steak, you have to pay $14.95 per person in the free dining room on RCCL. Service is much better too on NCL.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

I think NCL is much better than RCCL. Remember the famous "Ranch Steak?" Yuck. And if you want a better steak, you have to pay $14.95 per person in the free dining room on RCCL. Service is much better too on NCL.

 

Linda, just off our first RCI cruise in 8 years, and have to disagree with you. We found the MDR food and service much better on the Monarch than on any of of the NCL ships we have sailed. However, the NCL buffet beats the RCI buffet hands down. Also, we missed the Blue Lagoon and the late nite buffet in the casino that NCL does.

[frediver]

Funny thing about food:

Two cooks using the same ingredients, same recipe,

will get different results.:eek:

[njhorseman]

Our most recent cruise was on Royal Caribbean last month. We found the MDR food has deteriorated to be the worst we have had on any cruise, due to the selection offered on their new menus and really poor preparation (many items dry and overcooked). We used to think Royal's MDR was slightly better than NCL's, but not after our most recent experience.

 

NCL's buffets are head and shoulders above Royal's Windjammer IMO, and have been for several years.

[jdvmd]

Linda, just off our first RCI cruise in 8 years, and have to disagree with you. We found the MDR food and service much better on the Monarch than on any of of the NCL ships we have sailed. However, the NCL buffet beats the RCI buffet hands down. Also, we missed the Blue Lagoon and the late nite buffet in the casino that NCL does.

 

Hi Ron, glad you had a good time on RCCL. I will stand by what I have said. Personally, I think Celebrity has the best food. Our last time on the Oasis, the service was horrible, food bad. We just couldn't take it anymore and found alternatives.

 

I bet you did miss those late night or early morning munchies after pulling a late night in the casino!

 

How is the gang?

[josumello]

We found the food on the NCL Gem almost inedible in the MDR. The food on our RCCL cruises was so much better as was the service. The waitstaff on Gem was just overwhelmed with tables. Each course brought a different server and getting a drink was impossible. So we decided to try the specialty restaurants. Big Mistake, now we were paying for really bad quality food. It really ruined the cruise which was too bad as the ship was nice and the entertainment was very enjoyable. Also the crew did their best considering how understaffed they were. No more NCL for us

[sassycruiser]

Did RCCL Explorer of the Seas in 5/12 and NCL Epic in 12/12. Thought the food was much better on NCL than RCCL.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

Hi Ron, glad you had a good time on RCCL. I will stand by what I have said. Personally, I think Celebrity has the best food. Our last time on the Oasis, the service was horrible, food bad. We just couldn't take it anymore and found alternatives.

 

I bet you did miss those late night or early morning munchies after pulling a late night in the casino!

 

How is the gang?

 

Hi Linda!

 

We did Celebrity Soltice her first year, food and service was a disappointment for us, but might have been because she was a new ship.

 

The Monarch is one of RCI's oldest and smallest ships, which may be why the service and food was better than what you expirienced on the Oasis.

 

Yes, we not only missed the late night munchies in the casino, we also missed the entire NCL casino expirience. The casino on the Monarch was awful, very small with outdated machines that payed nothing. However, for what we paid for the cruise, it was a good time.

 

Hope to catch up with you and yours again some day!

 

-Ron and Jane

[jdvmd]

Hi Linda!

 

We did Celebrity Soltice her first year, food and service was a disappointment for us, but might have been because she was a new ship.

 

The Monarch is one of RCI's oldest and smallest ships, which may be why the service and food was better than what you expirienced on the Oasis.

 

Yes, we not only missed the late night munchies in the casino, we also missed the entire NCL casino expirience. The casino on the Monarch was awful, very small with outdated machines that payed nothing. However, for what we paid for the cruise, it was a good time.

 

Hope to catch up with you and yours again some day!

 

-Ron and Jane

Glad to hear that the Monarch was good. We have friends who sail on her once a MONTH. But they recently tried Celebrity and loved it!

 

We sailed on the Solstice her first season also.

 

Just did the two nighter on the Constellation a few weeks ago and will head out on the new Reflection on March 30. We were going to go on the Epic again as we have friends flying in from Australia for their first-ever Caribbean cruise. But J.D. decided he wanted the new ship AND the very generous drinks package that Celebrity through in for no additional cost!

 

Why don't you all come with!

[Karysa]

The worst part of my 3 Royal Caribbean cruises was the food, period. Of Costa, Carnival and NCL, Royal was dead last in this department. I don't like my food salty, don't like my chicken dry and my meat tough and I don't like cheesecake that tastes like jello. Other than that I am not a fussy eater. I love Royals beautiful ships filled with wonderful activities it's just the food that I dont like.

[genealogyfan]

Definitely thought Norwegian had much better food and better choices then the one cruise I took on Royal Caribbean.

 

I wasn't expecting 5 star quality from either considering they are cruise ships, but all food is subjective.

[hamrag]

We have sailed NCL on 5 occasions, and RCI on 6 occasions. Our opinion, based on these experiences, is that MDR food is better with RCI but the buffet food at lunch is better with NCL. Breakfast buffets are broadly equal, although slightly different oferings on each line.

 

Service on RCI, again based on our experiences, is generally better than NCL.

 

We plan to continue sailing both lines, and others too! Our two most recent cruises were RCI and our next one is NCL.

[HokiePoq]

Mdr is better most nites on RCCl

But the Epic has the best Buffet a sea and lately Rccls has been lacking

 

 

We've only been on one Royal cruise so I can only speak to that. The food on that one ship was the absolute worst of any ship of any line I've been on. The main dining room was so noisy that it was intolerable to me. We were seated at a table for 12 and had to wait for people who had double servings of some courses, came late, or sent back food. I didn't blame those who sent back food. The beef was inedible. I just didn't eat it but others sent it back. Other recipes were not good tasting. Some at our table complained to the head waiter who said the recipes were fleetwide. I surely hope not as we are getting ready for another cruise on RCCL. Needless to say we chose it for the itinerary not the food.

One thing I did like about Royal food was the wonderful salad bar in the main dining room during lunch.

I've never had a bad meal on NCL and don't have to worry about huge tables crammed so close together that the waiter has an awful time getting between them.

[logan25]

I also have only sailed Royal one time thus far. Did not have a lot of complaint with the MDR. I was partly evaluating their offering compared to NCL for the benefit of my husband who was not on that trip. For him in addition to MDR menu items, the go to foods are burgers, hot wings, pizza, and battered fish filets. Not high brow, but suits his taste.

 

I found the burgers to be fine. The pizza I thought was passable, but I never could find it fresh out of the oven. The battered fish was hit and miss. One day it was good, and the next, the batter was only partly cooked, so oozy, yuck! The hot wings were certainly not the traditional version. The chef had used some "crumb" coating prior to frying and the hot sauce for dipping was a joke. It was more of a barbeque sauce with only the slightest hint of kick.

[NYcruzzer]

Posting this question on the NCL board I would imagine the majority of the people will say NCL's food is better. Just as if you post this question on Royal Caribbean's board the people there will most likely say they prefer the food on Royal. I have sailed numerous times on NCL, Carnival, and several times in Royal. In my opinion (quite subjective) all three lines MDR are quite comparable. It is the buffet and specialty restuarants where NCL is a cut above.

[jmvda]

I sailed 3 times....2 times in NCL(GEM and EPIC) and one in Royal(LOS).

In MDR it´s a tie, both are the same.Buffet NCL wins