NCL JEWEL food

[stobrien]

We are very budget conscious on our trip, we would rather spend our money on excursions and other vises than food so we will be sticking to the complimentary dinning. I would like a better understanding these food options.

 

From what I have read these are the complimentary dinning restaurants:

Azura Main Dining Room

Blue Lagoon

Garden Café

The Great Outdoors

Sky High Bar & Grill

Tsar’s Palace Main Dining Room

 

Which ones are Buffet, are some better than others?

Do we need to book times?

Is earlier or later better so to beat the crowds?

Do any of you have some suggestion on the best times to eat?

 

Thank you for your Help

[ChampionCruiser]

We are very budget conscious on our trip, we would rather spend our money on excursions and other vises than food so we will be sticking to the complimentary dinning. I would like a better understanding these food options.

 

From what I have read these are the complimentary dinning restaurants:

Azura Main Dining Room

Blue Lagoon

Garden Café

The Great Outdoors

Sky High Bar & Grill

Tsar’s Palace Main Dining Room

 

Which ones are Buffet, are some better than others?

Do we need to book times?

Is earlier or later better so to beat the crowds?

Do any of you have some suggestion on the best times to eat?

 

Thank you for your Help

 

The Garden Cafe and Great Outdoors are typical cruise buffet venues. They are connected, with the Great Outdoors outside. They offer similar food, but the Garden Cafe has a bigger selection.

 

Sky High is one of a pair of outdoor bar/grills.

 

Blue Lagoon is the 24 hour "diner" that serves comfort food (wings, burgers, sandwiches, salads, soups, etc.).

 

We ate in the MDRs three times and thought both were good. Our first MDR was Tsars, on the second night of the cruise (the Captain's/ dress up if you want night). We got there at 6:15 and had to wait around 20 minutes to be seated. They do give you free champagne tickets for use at any bar if that's the case.

 

Because of that, we made reservations for our next meal in Azura and were seated right away at 6:30. We didn't make a reservation later in the week and were again seated right away at the same time.

 

So, from our experience, it was hit or miss as far as the need for reservations went. I've heard that Azura backs up more than Tsars since it is more informal (shorts allowed), but our only wait was in Tsars...

[garycarla]

Though you see folks here talking alot about the speciality restaurants, the vast majority eat at the free venues. And, are very happy with them.

 

You will be just fine.

[ladytravlr2]

I normally only eat the complimentary foods on a cruise. I found the NCL Jewel well within what I expected and needed to have pleasant dining experiences.

 

The Garden buffet has anything you could want for all three meals, with a little variety from day to day. The great outdoors is at the end of the Garden Buffet and allows you to get your food and sit outdoors, or bring it back into the seating area of the Garden Buffet. It is a little more like grill food and basic than the Garden buffet.

 

Outside on the pool deck, you will find grill type foods different times of the day, and you won't be hungry if you choose to get food there and go back to your pool lounge. You can also bring your Garden buffet food back out to the pool area too. There are many tables there to sit and eat at also.

 

Both dining rooms are nice, one being less dressy. The only complaint I would have is that I prefer my food to come to the table a little warmer, seems like that was an issue with other NCL's too. But other than that, it was all good!

 

Blue Lagoon or whatever their pub style (different ships may call it something else)...is quite good, especially for quick meals, or late night snacks.

 

I found that the earlier you go to the dining rooms the easier to get in within a few minutes. We generally tried for between 6:30 and 7, so we would be finished in time to go to the first show. After the show, many go to dinner then, and it can be longer to get seated. If you wait until people are in the late show then you probably can get in faster too, I just didn't like eating that late.

 

What is so nice about the free style, is that if you have been on an excursion or busy doing other things, you can be assured you will find options to have dinner or snacks no matter the time.

 

The only thing I miss about freestyle vs. fixed dining is: I loved having the same dinner partners every night, and looked forward to seeing them each evening and catching up on what everyone did all day, etc. Became long time friends with many of them.

 

Enjoy, and I agree..spend your money on other things!

[em-sk]

We are very budget conscious on our trip, we would rather spend our money on excursions and other vises than food so we will be sticking to the complimentary dinning. I would like a better understanding these food options.

 

From what I have read these are the complimentary dinning restaurants:

Azura Main Dining Room

Blue Lagoon

Garden Café

The Great Outdoors

Sky High Bar & Grill

Tsar’s Palace Main Dining Room

 

Which ones are Buffet, are some better than others?

Do we need to book times?

Is earlier or later better so to beat the crowds?

Do any of you have some suggestion on the best times to eat?

 

Thank you for your Help

 

There are two main dinning rooms. The Azura Main Dining Room and Tsar’s Palace Main Dining Room. They are both inclusive. Wait times can be a function of how many people are on the ship, etc. You should be able to make reservations. If you are in to lobster that is normally served on the day of departure in both these venues. One side of the menu is fixed for the entire cruise, the other side will very from day to day. Both dinning rooms have slight variations.

 

The Blue Lagoon is open 24 hours per day and complementary. Food is on par with what your would expect in an American dinner.

 

The other venues are up on the the top deck and are all buffets (or an outdoor barbeque by pool). Again complimentary. The Garden Cafe is the main indoor buffet the others are outdoor buffets either at the rear of the ship (behind the Garden Cafe) or in front of the Garden Cafe towards the pool area.

 

When they close the Garden Cafe to clean and prep for switch over from one meal service to another they always have one of the outdoor ones open. The Garden Cafe also has manned stations where a cook will custom prepare something for you based on the time of the day. For example there is a custom omelet station for breakfast; usually stir fry station or grill station for other meal times or a carving station. The crepe station in the evening is quite good.

 

There is also room service with is mostly complimentary, they charge for pizza for some reason and i believe a service charge during certain hours. That said, I like the pizza up in the buffet.

 

Food tends to be a personal taste thing and you will get quite different views here. I personally like NCL food. My personal take:

- The Blue Lagoon menu is made up of pretty average dishes. Not overly inspiring. I think the other venues are better.

- When sun is out and they do a charcoal barbeque (chicken, burgers) on deck I would take advantage of that.

- The main dinning rooms are nice, more complex menu. Chef specials are usually good. No complaints.

- The buffet has a lot of variety. Fair number of ethnic choices worth trying.

 

Overall i think you have some good choices. The buffet area does get full quickly during breakfast and lunch. When that happens I have found they tend to open up seating in the Italian specialty area for buffet users. (The Italian specialty restaurant is normally only open for dinner). There is also seating on the back and pool deck.

Edited January 18, 2014 by em-sk

[lisakoivu]

We are also among those that only eat at free venues. We prefer azura to tsars just because it's smaller and more intimate. Have had very good meals there. You do not need to pay to enjoy the food. I agree with the poster who advised always take advantage of charcoal buffets...they are excellent

 

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[lisakoivu]

P.S. jewel my favourite ship! You'll have a great time

 

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[MsJ]

Hello, We were on the Jewel last February. We ate in the Auzul 2 nights and the rest of the time in the Tzars main dining room. We liked the food. We enjoyed the food. We ate lunch at the buffet everyday and liked the food and the variety there. We usually had room service for breakfast. We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants. Years ago we ate in the LeBistro on the NCL Sea and it was an excellent meal. My husband took advantage of the 2 for one beer special at Maltings. It was only a from 5:00 to maybe 7:00 not sure. I got a daily margarita special at Modernos bar each night. We were on deck 8 so it was a short walk to Modernos ..get the margarita and back to the cabin to enjoy on the deck. We had a great time on the Jewel out of NYC. It was the second time we did that cruise. The first being on the NCL Sea in 2002.We are booked on the Breakaway for next month again out of NYC and even though I have read a lot of negative reviews on it I always go with an open mind. I had read a ton of negative ones on the Jewel too but it is a beautiful ship, the service was great, the crew always had a smile and hello. Enjoy your cruise on the Jewel. I would sail her again any day.

[ClaireAndMike]

Of the three NCL cruises I've been on thus far, I have never eaten at a specialty restaurant. Part of this is because I too am budget conscious but I am also a vegetarian who is VERY picky about what I eat. I'm also allergic to shellfish and after a bad experience at a Benihana am TERRIFIED of those teppanyaki places.

 

I am a big MDR fan, and on the Jewel, I think we ate in Azura all but one night.

 

I have that MDR menu memorized so I know exactly what I'm ordering each night! I hope they don't change it because my little brain may not be able to handle it.

 

A little predictable of me, yes, but they've got some entrees that I really love and I can't exactly dine on a cruise ship any time I want. I'm already looking forward to my mushroom ravioli on the Breakaway in August (please still have it!).

[jjikids]

Ask when the chocolate buffet will be served. Desserts are not the greatest on NCL but it is free and a great picture moment. Did enjoy the chocolate mousse.

[harbiejoe]

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Where is the best place to have a big breakfast.

[em-sk]

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Where is the best place to have a big breakfast.

 

Garden Cafe Buffet for a Big Breakfast. I Love the omelets and smoked salmon.

[GORDONCHICK]

The food is fine in the MDRs on the Jewel. We cruised on the Jewel over Christmas. However, I will say that service was very slow in both Tsar's and Azura, so if planning to make a show or something, you might go a little earlier than you would normally.

[Valen9]

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Where is the best place to have a big breakfast.

 

Garden Cafe is great for a big breakfast. If the seating is all full, you can also sit in La Cucina on the other side of the aft elevator bank. You have a longer walk to go get more food, but some folks don't know about that area.

 

We had breakfast in Blue Lagoon once and it was quite nice. You can probably have a "big breakfast" pretty much anywhere since you can order as much as you like.

 

I don't like it for breakfast (since I like to have a lot of protein then and the menu is all carbs) but you can get Room Service for free anytime except between midnight and 6am. That's great when you've had a really busy day and want to relax in your room.

[stobrien]

It sounds like we should just try them all. How are the lines around 5 pm? I am a early to bed early to rise person and we like to eat early.

 

Thanks for all the comments

[Demonyte]

It sounds like we should just try them all. How are the lines around 5 pm? I am a early to bed early to rise person and we like to eat early.

 

Usually one MDR opens a bit earlier (like 30mins) than the other - not necessarily at 5pm but 5:30pm. When you go to a MDR about 5-10 mins after the opening time, in my experience you can pretty much walk right in.

[roger001]

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Where is the best place to have a big breakfast.

 

 

We like breakfast in the Great Outdoors. Their grill will cook eggs, omelets any way you like. All the rest of the usual breakfast items are there waiting for you, rolls, pastries, meats, potatoes, coffee, juice, etc. And if you don't want to sit out in the open, you can walk through the sliding door and sit in the Italian restaurant where seating is available for breakfast.

[BirdandBaby]

My husband and I were on the Jewel Dec 22-26. This was our first cruise and I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the food. Although we choose to do some of the specialties because we were celebrating the holidays, I would be quite happy doing a Jewel cruise doing just the free venues. I know everybody has different tastes, but here's what we thought:

 

(1) loved the Great Outdoors for breakfast. Good omelettes, fresh fruit, good coffee, and an ocean view.

(2) not crazy about the Garden Buffet. I did eat there a couple of times and thought the food was hit or miss, but I did have good soups/salad/stir fry there. I just didn't like it because it was very crowded and noisy - ok in a pinch, but there are better places to eat.

(3) Tsar's. We had one lunch (fine) and two breakfasts there (even better). Good breakfast selections and attentive service. Didn't try it for dinner.

(4) Azura. Mixed bag. We didn't make reservations for any of our three dinners there. We went during prime time (7:00, 7:30 ish), and were given a buzzer and free champagne while we waited. Waits ranged from 15-30 minutes. First dinner excellent - good food and service. Second dinner - good service, terrible food. It was steak and lobster night, and the lobster was too salty, the steak inedible. Third dinner - Christmas day - good food, horrendous service. Slow and error prone - I think they were just overwhelmed.

(5) Blue Lagoon - nothing special, but good for food at odd times in a pinch. Hamburger, chicken fingers, that sort of thing.

 

Also, we did room service for breakfast a couple of times. Good for the basics, complimentary, on time, and convenient if you don't want to go out.

Edited January 19, 2014 by BirdandBaby

[NancyL2]

Best restaurant to get a good Eggs Benedict?

[BirdandBaby]

Tsar's. :)

[NancyL2]

Tsar's. :)

 

Thank you! I can't wait. :)

[seacrcsvz]

Stobrien, I dont think you will have any trouble. We cruiuse with our three kids and usually eat early. If you go to the buffet at 5:00 or 5:30 when it opens for dinner you will have plenty of hot, fresh selections, no waiting in lines, and your pick of seating. We have taken the kids to the buffet, then dropped them at the kids club so we could go to dinner in the dining room on our own around 5:45. Again, no wait and nice and quiet ast that time.

I agree with you - why spend money on eating when it is already included. The AI rextaurants and buffets are fine, and not sure I agree with the person who said the desserts are lacking. The chocolate lava cakes are delicious, the chocolate fondue is a huge success, and the rest of the time I try to eat fresh frtuits and just have a small piece of dessert (bread pudding and rice pudding, as well as banana cake were great). The only dessert I didnt care for was the cheesecakke - it's whipped, not baked, but many people are fine with that.

Can anyone tell me if the jewel has the kids buffet that many of the NCL ships have with the reserved seating? We found this a wonderful way to meet thge families of the children our kids met in the kids club. Ended up doing a shore excursion with some of them too, and made great new friends. Plus, what kid doesnt love a buffet st their level filled with kid friendly foods!

[stobrien]

sounds great

[JMHAM1]

We were on the Jewel Dec 15th and we thought the quality of the buffet food was better than on the other NCL ships we have been on. We especially liked the pasta station and crepe stations at the buffet. Hubby liked the made to order omelette. We usually had room service breakfast and it was great. Chocolate croissants are YUM. Grab a couple of cartons of milk from the buffet at breakfast and put them in your fridge if you like milk before bed. They have cookies out there at certain times as well. Blue Lagoon is yum as always. Try their cheesecake.

 

 

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