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Why the excitement over lobster


orangepeel
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  • 2 weeks later...

We do not care for the lobster on HAL ships. About every 3 years I will try it and it is still just as bad before.

They cook it in tons of salt. Then it is plated, covered with a dome to be brought out to the serving station. Sometimes it takes 5 - 10 minutes before the waiter actually serves it. In the mean time the lobster is still steaming under that dome and getting gummy - ugh. Plus they are very small -- 2 or 3 bites.

Much prefer to order lobster at home.

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I don't care for the lobster on the ships either, and I'm not sorry they're not doing it anymore on the Norwegian Breakaway which we are going on in July. Yes, I've had it on some cruises, but sometimes I opt for something else. And I love lobster, but being in New York I could go to City Island any time and get a good fresh steamed lobster. And I hear people from around here rave about how there was lobster night on their cruise, so for those people it's not because they cannot get it at home other than Red Lobster.

 

I think that for many people, they feel like they are "getting their money's worth" when eating "free" lobster tails on a cruise...even if they are just the size of jumbo shrimp and are rubbery.

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For me, the "big thing" about Lobster Night has nothing to do with the taste of the lobster, it is about the whole experience of the evening. When you have tablemates that are also enjoying the night, it becomes an great experience. Replace these tablemates with the complainers, and it is just like any other night (albeit on a cruise).

 

I also dare say that lobster night was usually on a formal night (I am not sure anymore with all the changes going on), which, in my humble opinion, also adds to the experience.

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For me, the "big thing" about Lobster Night has nothing to do with the taste of the lobster, it is about the whole experience of the evening. When you have tablemates that are also enjoying the night, it becomes an great experience. Replace these tablemates with the complainers, and it is just like any other night (albeit on a cruise).

 

I also dare say that lobster night was usually on a formal night (I am not sure anymore with all the changes going on), which, in my humble opinion, also adds to the experience.

 

I love the formal night in general. On NCL, we still opt to dress up and we even put our little boys in tuxedos. In my opinion, it makes the vacation special. Then again I started cruising in 1990 when you had to dress up to go to dinner on formal night, and the buffet wasn't even a dinner option (it was only open for breakfast and lunch). So it was either dress up or order room service. But I also understand the other side of it...a lot of people prefer not to dress formally on their vacation. So I think making it optional is the happy medium. We still see plenty of people all dressed up and it is very nice. Having fewer people dress up on the ship doesn't ruin it for us or anything. As long as they're dressed respectfully (and I mean covering enough skin and not dirty), we're happy!

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  • 5 months later...
By the way, a little tip--the tail on cold water lobster isn't the good part. The claws are where the sweetest meat is. :)

 

I live in Maine, and I'd take the lobster tail over the two claws any day. I find the claw meat to have a weird dryness to it. Not that it makes the claws inedible or anything, let's not get too hasty and pass up the claws.

 

I do know people who think the tail meat is more chewy (ie "tough") in texture than the claw meat, but it's never held me back :D

 

Lorie

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For anyone cruising on Carnival, I am happy to report that as of last Nov, the lobster tail, is actually "maine" lobster tail, as it says on the menu. I have vehemently argued that it was not in the past, but I accept that the one I had last November was north atlantic lobster, and was cooked perfectly:)

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  • 3 months later...

I guess I fall into the "meh" category. I've had lobster several times in the past and it simply did not make much of an impression on me. Perhaps my palate has been on strike for a couple of decades, but the draw is simply not there for my appetite.

 

To those of you to whom lobster is the king of the table, please feel free to have my lobster and enjoy the hell out of it, next time we cruise together! ;)

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I guess I fall into the "meh" category. I've had lobster several times in the past and it simply did not make much of an impression on me. Perhaps my palate has been on strike for a couple of decades, but the draw is simply not there for my appetite.

 

To those of you to whom lobster is the king of the table, please feel free to have my lobster and enjoy the hell out of it, next time we cruise together! ;)

 

It's all a matter of taste and opinion. I know plenty of people who don't like lobster, and plenty who don't like any fish or shellfish. They prefer a thick, juicy steak.

Edited by bangzoom6877
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Welllll....I seem to think a really, really good meatloaf does beat cruise ship lobster most of the time.

 

<best Homer Simpson voice>: Mmmmmmmm...meatloaf....:rolleyes:

Now, a decent bacon cheeseburger would definitely get _my_ juices flowing, but that's just how I roll.

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I guess I'm one of those people who get "overly" excited about Lobster nights on cruises. My entire family of 16 were bummed this summer to find no lobster on our NCL cruise. I LOVE seafood, but especially Lobster and I live in Houston. Sure we have Red Lobster & other seafood places that serve it but it is by no means "dirt cheap". You are paying a minimum of $20 to have as part of your entree or $9 to add to an existing entree without Lobster. Besides this, my husband hates seafood, so I do not get to go but once a year. The grocery stores sell live whole & frozen tails but they smell up my house when I cook them & that's a no go for dh. So, of course I get super excited about Lobster night on cruises. Its my favorite meal.

Some say the tails are so tiny you need several to fill up. For me, I'm enjoying the whole meal (appetizer, Lobster entree with shrimp & sides, & dessert) not just the tail so I get plenty full. Then again, I usually do order a second tail because I love it so much & just leave overly stuffed. Its a treat for me! And my dh loves that I can have it & he doesn't have to smell it in our house or in a restaurant that smells of fish. Win win!

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Now I wish I could be super excited over lobster instead of being a lobster snob with the rest of the posters. But, hey, none of us should forget that it is a limited per that is really only served once per cruise.

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Yeah, come to think of it, I don't think I have ever had lobster at sea, even though we have cruised a good number of times. Wonder why!

 

But I do get excited when I get to eat lobster in the air. Shameless plug for Singapore Airlines Book the Cook service.

[YOUTUBE]UCSs8iQ3jOE[/YOUTUBE]

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  • 2 weeks later...
For me, the "big thing" about Lobster Night has nothing to do with the taste of the lobster, it is about the whole experience of the evening. When you have tablemates that are also enjoying the night, it becomes an great experience. Replace these tablemates with the complainers, and it is just like any other night (albeit on a cruise).

 

I hadn't considered the festive aspect of Lobster Night.

One of the other factors that dissuade me from crustacea, etc., is that I'm basically lazy; all that cracking and digging is simply too much work for the result IMNSHO. Once a few friends and DW and I went to an AYCE crab house in Maryland just across the PA state line from Gettysburg. After mangling a few crabs, I asked for the fried chicken option. Everybody left satisfied.

Edited by capncarp
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  • 3 months later...

I've never aligned with the reverence for lobster either on land or sea (the taste is already pretty mild/bland but then the new fad is to cover it in béchamel and pasta? Can you even taste it anymore?), but I do understand that it's a hallmark of luxury. It's a classic story of a Cruise experience - one of the few that still mostly holds true. The midnight Buffets and Flaming Baked Alaska are much harder to find these days from what I can tell.

 

The thing that I do find interesting is that so many people complain about how small the tail is or rave about how big the tail they got was. Growing up coastal it was always firmly understood that as the bugs got bigger the flavor diminished. It was considered much better to get a few smaller lobsters worth than one big one. Not only does this have better flavor and more likely a more consistent cooking, but it also shows that they put FAR more effort into the meal as dealing with the shelling is labor intensive. (and yes, as posted upthread the tail is usually lesser meat than the other areas but it's easier to extract).

 

As long as it makes people happy, though. While they eat lobster at the fish shack I'm happy about my hush puppies and that's basically just an accident of knocking your cornmeal breading into the frier.

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Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of lobster on a cruise either. I find lobster to be over cooked most times in the MDR. I have found it better prepared in the Crown Grill, but even then I don't NEED to get it. I prefer to get a good steak.

 

I do live in California where there is an abundance of seafood and while lobster isn't local it is easy to get.

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I recently returned from a 15 night cruise on the Star Princess (Vancouver BC to Hawaii and back to Vancouver). In the Capri Dining Room (MDR), lobster tail was served multiple times.:):) It was very YUMMY and the waiter even removed the lobster meat from the shell.

 

Being served lobster on a cruise is a big deal to me. My parents were east-coast-USA born and we'd have east-coast lobster on special occasions; my dad traveled and often brought home a case of live lobsters from New York area. Today, I live in Oregon where, although lobster is plentiful, it is often times beyond our budget. Plus my dear wife had a bad reaction to consuming shellfish so we do not get lobster or much shellfish at home. We have gone out and I have ordered lobster or shellfish but it is often served overcooked and I feel odd being the only one ordering it. So, when I go on a cruise, I look forward to "Lobster Night", even if it is lobster tail.

 

The lobster tail served on the Star Princess was cooked to perfection. :) All seafood I was served was superb and not overcooked.

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  • 2 months later...

If one comes from a coastal place with good lobster available, there are very few cruise dining venues that are going to get it "right" in the MDR on lobstah night. I'd say most of my lobster experiences in the MDR were "MEH!", so-so, but not great. However I found the specialty dining restaurants did have real Maine lobster (lobstaH!) and prepared it properly... So I opt for that if I'm in the mood for a scrumptious, Atlantic sea cockroach instead of going to the MDR.

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