MDR food quality

[trish1c]

DMH15 -- I know why the food is bland. I just don't like it.

My point was more that the cruise ship chef somehow managed to make jerk chicken bland. That actually must have taken some skill! I generally don't like jerk chicken because it's often too spicy for me. I ordered it during my last cruise hoping for some -- any --flavor. :o I end up eating a lot of the Indian food at the buffet . . . again because by Indian standards I'm sure it's dull as dishwater but it's one of the few things that cosnsitently has flavor.

[SnootieTootie]

I found the food on the Gem August 31, 2014 to be fine. However, the dinner service is NOT what it used to be. The servers spent a lot of time talking amongst themselves instead of taking care of their tables. And I will add, we generally were dining early, at 5:30 or 6:00.

 

Breakfast service seemed to be better.

[lanceholt]

I would compare NCL's MDR food to :

 

Royal , carnival , celebrity , Holland , princess , costa . Msc ect ect .

Essentially any line serving 2000-4000 passengers a day .. ;)

 

Dozens of cruises on multiple lines and not once have I come across a meal

that was inedible ( like some like to say).. Anyone that picky needs to bring their own Peanut butter samiches ..

 

next

 

Fantastic!!! My sentiments exactly. We have never had an inedible meal in a MDR, and once when I couldn't finish my dinner, just not hungry, the server was very concerned that I didn't like something. Have always had good service as well. Try the spring rolls for appetizer, our favorite.

[RJ2002]

Of all the cruise lines I have sailed, the MDR food on NCL is my least favorite. I agree with others who have said that the preparations seem bland. Most of the steaks I've had in the MDR have been tough, though I did enjoy the lobster on the first night of my recent Star Baltic cruise.

 

Now, on the other hand, the specialty restaurants are very good. If we sail NCL again, we will probably spend most of our evenings in the fee venues.

[bonniboo1]

As a chef, I have a deep appreciation of what goes into providing dinners. I have sailed NCL several times and I am looking forward to The Breakaway in the spring. While on the Spirit last year, I became addicted to the egg roll appetizer. I always order lamb any time its on the menu. The food isn't gourmet, but its downright decent with plenty of selection. I don't have to cook or clean or menu plan for a week. What's not to like?

[kcfoxy]

As a chef, I have a deep appreciation of what goes into providing dinners. I have sailed NCL several times and I am looking forward to The Breakaway in the spring. While on the Spirit last year, I became addicted to the egg roll appetizer. I always order lamb any time its on the menu. The food isn't gourmet, but its downright decent with plenty of selection. I don't have to cook or clean or menu plan for a week. What's not to like?

 

My personal favorite, along with the lamb...

[lisakoivu]

If we took a poll of the respondents to this thread, would we find that most of the people who say the food is acceptable or better are the ones that cook when not on vacation, and fall into the "any meal I don't have to good is fantastic" camp? And would we further find that those who have higher standards are people who don't cook at lot when at home, but do other things to support their household or eat out a lot? I'm just wondering.... I think if you cook 51 weeks a year, you'll be thrilled with the food. If you eat out at land based restaurants a lot, possibly not so much. I fall into the first camp, so even the buffet makes me happy :D

[terrydtx]

As a first time NCL cruiser later this year I appreciate all the comments about MDR food and I sort of know what to expect. Our last 4 cruises on HAL were exceedingly disappointing on MDR food quality and menus.. On a HAL cruise depending on the ship, you only have 2 or 3 specialty restaurant choices and I have been disappointed every time in their Pinnacle Grill specialty steak house. The Nieuw Amsterdam has an excellent Asian Fusion specialty venue but the Italian specialty one is not as good as Olive Garden.

 

BtW I can't wait to try the egg roll appetizer as it looks delicious. Like one poster here I usually go for the lamb dishes in the MDR too. I saw a copy of the Jewel everyday selections in the MDR and was surprised to see Lamb Shanks. I loved the Lamb shanks on HAL but they disappeared from the MDR menu on the NA cruise. Beef Wellington also disappeared from HAL MDR but was in the specialty steak house for a $30 upcharge.:eek: On HAL NA lamb chops in the MDR were replaced by the most tasteless and tough leg of Lamb I ever had. I had the rack of lamb in the NA Pinnacle Grill one night and they were equally tough and tasteless for the $30 upcharge.

[negn]

Only time I had truly inedible food was many years ago on the Majesty to Bermuda. It was awful. Noe I find it fair -good ; certainly not like the old days of sailing. Remember though ,now the ships are so much larger and they do try and keep costs down to make cruising more affordable. Bottom line, anytime I can eat without buying , cooking or cleaning is a vacation to me !

[mrwilliamt]

On a HAL cruise depending on the ship, you only have 2 or 3 specialty restaurant choices and I have been disappointed every time in their specialty steak house.

I have never been to Cagneys on NCL, only because there are alot of steak choices in the MDRs, and in the certain specialty restaurants that we continue to frequent (Le Bistro, La Cucina and Moderno).

I would recommend Moderno for a fantastic and filling meal, and a great value. There is a huge salad Buffett, which has some higher end items that you won't see in the Garden Buffett. The main offerings that are brought out to you one at a time on skewers include: 2 types of sausage, 2 or 3 steak choices included filet mignon, bacon wrapped chicken, lamb, another type of chicken. You are given a card, one side is green, one side is red. Keep it on green and the waiter will continue to load your dish with the item that is being offered. Flip it to red, and he will stop. Also, the best part is the dessert skewer: grilled pineapple. It is amazing, brushed with brown sugar and grilled perfectly. The brown sugar is almost crunchy, and the fruit is hot and moist.

It's really an incredible experience.

[newmexicoNita]

I know food is very subjective. There are varied opinions out there.

 

However, I believe in this forum we have many experienced NCL cruisers. Let's focus on MDR food quality. Please share your views on the NCL food in the MDR. What are your likes and dislikes?

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

Yes, you are wise to realize food is very subjective: of course most things in life are. As for the good and bad about NCL. We find their MDR food on par with Princess, except Princess has a slightly better variety, but we didn't find the food on Princess as tasty. None of the ships use as much spice as we like, but Princess was really bland. No one can say NCL food is not edible like we sometimes hear. It is on a level with say, a Applebees, or TGIF. with smaller portions. They do have some really good items, the eggs benedict for starters. Other than the eggs benedict, I am not a fan of their breakfast, there is very little variety. For those who do not like sauces, etc and are simply meat and potato eaters, the 8 oz sirloin, which can be ordered nightly is ok, we have had both good and bad experience with it. What some people do not know, you can order a different veggie than is offered and if they have it (usually they do) your wait staff is more than willing to bring it to you. This goes with baked potatoes as well. You can always order one. One more thing: do not expect good blue cheese dressing, it is awful.

 

We have only a few times had anything that was not decent. We haven't in the past 5 years had many items that would be considered great either. The best part is the appetizers. There are several that we find very good and sometimes order 2 helpings, skipping other courses. The weakest part of the meal is probably the desserts except the souflets (I have no idea how to spell the word)

 

I do have to say, I am amazed anyone would give the food only 2 stars and say the wait staff wasn't experienced or well trained. Just ask any of them, how long they have been with NCL? Most have 5 to 15 years experience. We have never found inexperience to be an issue. We do not expect the exact same service as we get in the specialty dining rooms. They staff is much busier in the MDR.

 

We do love the buffets and we usually try 3 specialty dining rooms on all cruises, regardless of the line, if the line has 3. Many do not offer the variety NCL does.

[newmexicoNita]

I think all Calamari tastes like rubber bands but I still like it lol. But it has to have the marinara sauce on the side. I think NCL likes to serve it with horseradish?? or something, which I have never heard of. They were very nice about bringing marinara instead.

 

We tried the calamari at La Cuccina(sp?) and my kids were a bit appalled by the whole little squids. They felt too sorry for them to eat it. I also thought the calamari was better in the MDR.

 

most Calamari does unless you are eating at a top of the line, restaurant. This is why I rarely order it. Good Calamari is outstanding, most is not good.

[emcelh]

If we took a poll of the respondents to this thread, would we find that most of the people who say the food is acceptable or better are the ones that cook when not on vacation, and fall into the "any meal I don't have to good is fantastic" camp? And would we further find that those who have higher standards are people who don't cook at lot when at home, but do other things to support their household or eat out a lot? I'm just wondering.... I think if you cook 51 weeks a year, you'll be thrilled with the food. If you eat out at land based restaurants a lot, possibly not so much. I fall into the first camp, so even the buffet makes me happy :D

 

That's probably true, and I think people sometimes have unrealistic expectation too. If you consider the cost per day of a cruise it's a bargain. You couldn't get to a destination or multiple destinations, stay in a hotel and have 3 meals a day in a moderately priced restaurant for what a cruise in an average priced cabin costs. If you're expecting upscale dining you'll be disappointed.

[bonniboo1]

Did you have to post a photo of the egg roll? lol . Ican't wait to have them, probably every night. I ordered lamb so many times on the Spirit that my friends called me Baaahnie.

 

Bonni]

[terrydtx]

That's probably true, and I think people sometimes have unrealistic expectation too. If you consider the cost per day of a cruise it's a bargain. You couldn't get to a destination or multiple destinations, stay in a hotel and have 3 meals a day in a moderately priced restaurant for what a cruise in an average priced cabin costs. If you're expecting upscale dining you'll be disappointed.

 

You are so right on, and to be fair to the cruise industry their food would be better compared to what is served at the all inclusive land based resorts. This is what the cruise industry is truly competing with, specially in the Caribbean. Before we discovered cruising we did this at locations in Cancun, Costa Maya and Cozumel. Even for more upscale all inclusives, the food is served buffet style and in Mexico was mostly poor quality and cheap Mexican food. The one place we did this in Costa Maya did have one up charged restaurant with what they called gourmet continental cuisine for $35per person and the food was just OK. My experience was the best all inclusive meal was about as good as the worst meal we had in any cruise ship MDR. To expect 4 star or 5 star gourmet land quality food at sea is just not a reality on the mass marketed cruise lines. If more people would accept this fact there would be a lot less complaints.

[jaja]

That's probably true, and I think people sometimes have unrealistic expectation too. If you consider the cost per day of a cruise it's a bargain. You couldn't get to a destination or multiple destinations, stay in a hotel and have 3 meals a day in a moderately priced restaurant for what a cruise in an average priced cabin costs. If you're expecting upscale dining you'll be disappointed.

 

 

Totally agree ;)

[halos]

If we took a poll of the respondents to this thread, would we find that most of the people who say the food is acceptable or better are the ones that cook when not on vacation, and fall into the "any meal I don't have to good is fantastic" camp? And would we further find that those who have higher standards are people who don't cook at lot when at home, but do other things to support their household or eat out a lot? I'm just wondering.... I think if you cook 51 weeks a year, you'll be thrilled with the food. If you eat out at land based restaurants a lot, possibly not so much. I fall into the first camp, so even the buffet makes me happy :D

 

I wouldn't say I fall into the camp that anything I don't have to cook is acceptable. ( I am a really good cook ;) ) I just look at it realistically...they are serving thousands of passengers and the cost of cruising is beyond reasonable. If I want something a bit better, I will pay for it at LeBistro or an of the other optional dining venues. To be honest, on our last 2 NCL cruises, I found the mdr (dinner) meals to be really quite awesome, considering it IS cruise food. My least favorite cruise meals were on our one and only (until Sept next year) RCI cruise.

I doubt many people have ever gone hungry on a cruise ship. One thing I do wish is that they'd use less salt.... as for it not being seasoned/spicey enough....I disagree. It's all a matter of taste. Not being from the south, I don't use as much seasoning as a typical southerner would. The dining experience is totally a matter of perspective.

[swedish weave]

Two stars. The service is usually about the same. They try hard but are not well trained or experienced.

 

Are you familiar with NCL hiring requirements ? They will not consider an application for servers unless they have experience in a 3 star or better hotel.

 

???????:confused:

[Warm Breezes]

If we took a poll of the respondents to this thread, would we find that most of the people who say the food is acceptable or better are the ones that cook when not on vacation, and fall into the "any meal I don't have to good is fantastic" camp? And would we further find that those who have higher standards are people who don't cook at lot when at home, but do other things to support their household or eat out a lot? I'm just wondering.... I think if you cook 51 weeks a year, you'll be thrilled with the food. If you eat out at land based restaurants a lot, possibly not so much. I fall into the first camp, so even the buffet makes me happy :D

 

I would be one that does not fit into your generalization. I don't like to cook at home and try to avoid it as much as possible. We do eat out a lot but Applebees, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden are the type of places we would choose to eat out at. IMHO the MDR is comparable to those type of places and so the food is acceptable to us. It is what I would expect for the price I am paying for the cruise. I just don't have unrealistic expectations about the food in the MDR....I do wish they would improve the quality of their deserts though....IMHO those are tasteless.

[mpk218]

Are you familiar with NCL hiring requirements ? They will not consider an application for servers unless they have experience in a 3 star or better hotel.

 

???????:confused:

 

Stop spouting facts , it kills the giggly subjectiveness of the thread :D

 

Now if an NCL waiter quit and was hired on at Chez Paul in Chicago . Im guessing their perceived service would somehow miraculously be considered Top shelf. ;)

 

just a guess.

[swedish weave]

Stop spouting facts , it kills the giggly subjectiveness of the thread :D

 

Now if an NCL waiter quit and was hired on at Chez Paul in Chicago . Im guessing their perceived service would somehow miraculously be considered Top shelf. ;)

 

just a guess.

 

OOPS !! Sorry about that !!!!!:D:D

[RJ2002]

Did you have to post a photo of the egg roll? lol . Ican't wait to have them, probably every night. I ordered lamb so many times on the Spirit that my friends called me Baaahnie.

 

Bonni]

 

See post #31 in this thread.

[yoyocruiser]

It truly challenges me why people think they are going to get five star food on a cruise. Dinner at a true 5 star restaurant will be over $100 a person. Do the math. It isn't going to happen.

 

That said, I am very picky and I am a very good cook. I am well traveled. I enjoy a range of restaurants (top quality, to the basic chains, and even fast food on occasion). I know the difference and I also know bad food. I have always found very good food on NCL ships--some ships better than others. The MDR is NOT where i have had the best food--that oddly enough has been the buffet and I was able to find some very select foods on the buffet. But the MDR has served up some very lovely meals which all in our family have been pleased. Yes, I have had a bad dish in the MDR--and I sent it back and got something good. They are always pleased to do that. Have reasonable expectations and the food will be pleasing to you.

 

If you expect to find 5 star dining, then of course you will be disappointed. It is bizarre to me that people don't understand the economics of what to expect on a cruise. If you want 5 star dining then pay several thousand--not several hundred--for your cruise. It's that simple.

[RJ2002]

I went back and re-read all the posts in this thread, and no where did I see anyone say they expected 5 star food. In fact, of the many threads on MDR dining, I don't recall ever seeing someone say they expected 5 star level food in the MDR on NCL.

 

To lump everyone who has an unfavorable opinion of NCL MDR food into that category is not fair.

 

People should be able to express an opinion about the MDR food without being referred to as having unrealistic expectations.

[johnmpcny]

Most days Pondrosa/Bobs Big Boy, best days Applebee's/Ruby Tuesdays.

 

I rate NCL 2.5* Holiday inn express level not up to a 3* Hilton/Sheraton experience. No way even close to any 4* I have been too.

 

I honestly expected better at least 3 star or comparable to mid range local dinning experience. Not the cheap wedding hall dinners I found to be the norm.

 

This is how it is sold

"Complimentary Dining Every cruise fare includes beautifully crafted menus in our two main dining rooms, a help-yourself buffet and a variety of casual cafés, grills and on-the-go choices. From fresh-baked breads, desserts and pastries to our chefs' original dishes made with the freshest ingredients, your dining can be as fine or fun as you want."

 

That is not the level I found it to be not much fresh and not much fine, as for beautifully crafted menus LOL ok so it is sales pitch.