Food - Hate it, love it - what's the deal?

[Fokis]

I spent two+ hours yesterday and an hour this morning reading tons of reviews for the NCL Pearl and I cannot figure out what is going on with the food situation.

 

This is what I see all within the last year -

 

"Food on Pearl is excellent compared to Carnival"

 

"Food on Carnival is way better then NCL, I will never go with NCL again"

 

"Buffet food on NCL is awful, worse than dorm room food"

 

"Food on NCL is terrible, including the specialty restaurants, they are always selling you the worst meat possible, Cagney was bad"

 

"Food is okay, not bad"

 

 

I have never read so much conflicting information. Are peoples tastes really that much difference? How can someone say it's the worst food they've seen in a long time and another person can say it's great. And how can someone say the Carnival food is much worse than NCL while someone else says Carnival is much better than NCL.

 

Is there any point to reading these reviews?

 

If I'm used to eating pretty good food, am I going to be severely disappointed with the NCL included food? How about the ultimate dining package? My definition of pretty good food is ...Me cooking curry dishes, prime/choice steaks on the grill with homemade garlic mashed potatoes, wild salmon, marinated chicken, etc. All organic food, grass fed, yada yada. If I go out though, I'm not disappointed in places like Applebees, Olive Garden, Claim Jumpers, Bostons Pizza, BJ's restaurant.

 

Based on that, what do you all think my experience would be? Is the food on the NCL honestly as bad as people say? It's making me want to cancel my cruise at this point.

 

Thanks...I appreciate any advice. And I know, I tend to read into things a lot before I go somewhere on a trip.. Especially if I spent a lot of $. :)

[johnql]

Are peoples tastes really that much difference?

Yes. You will have to judge for yourself. No one else has your taste buds and preferences.

[Love my butler]

If you enjoy Olive Garden, NCL food will be right up your alley. Keep in mind the service on all NCL ships is very hit or miss. Most dining rooms are now understaffed and the staff for the most part is poorly trained.

[nets33]

I agree that food is very subjective but i don''t agree that it is Olive Garden quality.

 

For the most part DH and I enjoy the food on NCL and we do enjoy some expensive four-star restaurants at home. I've had some "meh" food in the MDR and I've had some great meals but nothing that would ruin a vacation for me.

[SchoolNurseMom]

I am happy with most cruise food. Someone else cooking and I don't have to clean up! I think a lot of it has to do with your personal perception and attitude! I'm going to have a fabulous cruise, no matter! And I'm not going to be at work!:D

[kcwingwalker]

If you enjoy Olive Garden, NCL food will be right up your alley. Keep in mind the service on all NCL ships is very hit or miss. Most dining rooms are now understaffed and the staff for the most part is poorly trained.

 

I do enjoy Olive Garden once or twice a year. Never have had anything but good and almost always excellent service on NCL. And I've never been hungry. Also, if you don't like what you order in the MDRs you can always ask for another entrée.

 

We find most of the food on NCL to be fine not outstanding, but have also had some meals that were exceptional.

 

Have sailed with Carnival twice and felt that NCL has overall better food and service. Best of all No Dancing Waiters:)

[Fokis]

Cool, thanks guys. It sounds like I should be find with the complimentary meals as opposed to the ultimate dining. I'm hoping anyways!

[CruiseNwill]

If you enjoy Olive Garden, NCL food will be right up your alley. Keep in mind the service on all NCL ships is very hit or miss. Most dining rooms are now understaffed and the staff for the most part is poorly trained.

 

And you expect cruise food to be what exactly? Mastro's or eleven Madison park?

 

This is what I hate about CC all these people posting Haven reviews and people saying the quality stinks. We are not all rich snobby people that expect the world.

[Fokis]

And you expect cruise food to be what exactly? Mastro's or eleven Madison park?

 

This is what I hate about CC all these people posting Haven reviews and people saying the quality stinks. We are not all rich snobby people that expect the world.

 

lol. I don't think they were mocking me for enjoying Olive Garden? Even if they were, who cares :).

[Hikini]

Food is always a hot topic!

 

We have been on 9 NCL cruises - #10 coming up soon. We have found the food generally to be somewhere between good and very good, with an excellent thrown in here and there. Rarely have we had anything that we did not think was good, unless it was something that I wouldn't have liked anywhere in the world. (Like liver.) (I'm only using that as an example at the moment and not saying that we've ever had liver on a cruise.)

 

I'm very wary of many reviews who give blanket statements like, "The food was inedible." Really? You could not find one thing you could eat on the whole ship for the duration?

 

I'm also very wary of certain posters who are negative about everything. You will not please them no matter what. Give up.

 

Back in 2005 we were going on our 3rd cruise, and due to our great experiences with NCL my cousin and her husband were going with us. I had talked about it so much and we were all excited to go. Then I stumbled upon Cruise Critic. I started reading reviews about the ship we were going to be on - the Spirit. I started to get worried because there were so many negative things. Such as the ship was in terrible disrepair and the food was terrible. The service was bad, etc. I had pumped up NCL so much to my cousin and her husband, both first time cruisers, and I wondered if we had picked the wrong ship, and so on.

 

But we went, and it didn't take me long to start scratching my head. The ship was not falling apart - just the opposite. The food wasn't horrible - just the opposite. The service wasn't terrible - just the opposite. From that experience forward I decided that reviews were simply the opinions of (sometimes) some very unhappy people.

 

Attitude counts for a lot. Go, and have a great time!

[CruiseNwill]

lol. I don't think they were mocking me for enjoying Olive Garden? Even if they were, who cares :).

 

They are referring to Olive Garden being sub par food.

[punkincc]

Cool, thanks guys. It sounds like I should be find with the complimentary meals as opposed to the ultimate dining. I'm hoping anyways!

 

The UDP just does not make sense for many like us who enjoy eating at specialties 2 or 3 times each cruise and enjoy the buffet, MDR or O'Sheehans on the other nights. We just pay as we go for the specialties rather than buy the package. From $15 to $30 per person is really not that much for a bit of an upgrade in ambiance and food on a few nights. The last meal we had at Cagneys was absolutely wonderful. We just budget an extra $150 or so to allow us to do this. It makes for a nice change of pace.

[Fokis]

Food is always a hot topic!

 

We have been on 9 NCL cruises - #10 coming up soon. We have found the food generally to be somewhere between good and very good, with an excellent thrown in here and there. Rarely have we had anything that we did not think was good, unless it was something that I wouldn't have liked anywhere in the world. (Like liver.) (I'm only using that as an example at the moment and not saying that we've ever had liver on a cruise.)

 

I'm very wary of many reviews who give blanket statements like, "The food was inedible." Really? You could not find one thing you could eat on the whole ship for the duration?

 

I'm also very wary of certain posters who are negative about everything. You will not please them no matter what. Give up.

 

Back in 2005 we were going on our 3rd cruise, and due to our great experiences with NCL my cousin and her husband were going with us. I had talked about it so much and we were all excited to go. Then I stumbled upon Cruise Critic. I started reading reviews about the ship we were going to be on - the Spirit. I started to get worried because there were so many negative things. Such as the ship was in terrible disrepair and the food was terrible. The service was bad, etc. I had pumped up NCL so much to my cousin and her husband, both first time cruisers, and I wondered if we had picked the wrong ship, and so on.

 

But we went, and it didn't take me long to start scratching my head. The ship was not falling apart - just the opposite. The food wasn't horrible - just the opposite. The service wasn't terrible - just the opposite. From that experience forward I decided that reviews were simply the opinions of (sometimes) some very unhappy people.

 

Attitude counts for a lot. Go, and have a great time!

 

 

To : Hikini- This is my exact feeling. I booked the cruise and now I'm worried because I'm just seeing negative things. Part of that is because I'm focusing on them for some reason. In reality, there are probably more positive reviews than anything else. And, you're right. Attitude is huge. I write reviews on Yelp a lot and have heard people complaining about specific employees or about how bad the service was at X place. I go there multiple times and have the opposite experience. It's almost like some people will complain no matter what. Thanks for this post.. Makes me feel a lot better about the cruise!

Edited July 22, 2014 by Fokis

[Fokis]

They are referring to Olive Garden being sub par food.

 

I don't know why but I find it funny if that's what they were saying. Everyone has different lifestyles. I find Dennys to be disgusting but I find KFC to be good. The person who is or isn't suggesting Olive Garden is sub par food might be eating $50.00 dollar plates at Ruth's Chris and thinking their food is really good but Obama eats brunch for $20,000.00 when he visits the rich for fund raising events. Grass is always greener. :D

Edited July 22, 2014 by Fokis

[roger001]

There is so much food available, from snack type, grilled type, breakfast type, dining room type (from MDRs to specialty restaurants), that there is no way you can't find something you like. I've never walked away from an NCL cruise hungry or unhappy. Only you can be the judge of the food...for your tastes. Ignore it all and go try for yourself.

[againin13]

I spent two+ hours yesterday and an hour this morning reading tons of reviews for the NCL Pearl and I cannot figure out what is going on with the food situation.

 

This is what I see all within the last year -

 

"Food on Pearl is excellent compared to Carnival"

 

"Food on Carnival is way better then NCL, I will never go with NCL again"

 

"Buffet food on NCL is awful, worse than dorm room food"

 

"Food on NCL is terrible, including the specialty restaurants, they are always selling you the worst meat possible, Cagney was bad"

 

"Food is okay, not bad"

 

 

I have never read so much conflicting information. Are peoples tastes really that much difference? How can someone say it's the worst food they've seen in a long time and another person can say it's great. And how can someone say the Carnival food is much worse than NCL while someone else says Carnival is much better than NCL.

 

Is there any point to reading these reviews?

 

If I'm used to eating pretty good food, am I going to be severely disappointed with the NCL included food? How about the ultimate dining package? My definition of pretty good food is ...Me cooking curry dishes, prime/choice steaks on the grill with homemade garlic mashed potatoes, wild salmon, marinated chicken, etc. All organic food, grass fed, yada yada. If I go out though, I'm not disappointed in places like Applebees, Olive Garden, Claim Jumpers, Bostons Pizza, BJ's restaurant.

 

Based on that, what do you all think my experience would be? Is the food on the NCL honestly as bad as people say? It's making me want to cancel my cruise at this point.

 

Thanks...I appreciate any advice. And I know, I tend to read into things a lot before I go somewhere on a trip.. Especially if I spent a lot of $. :)

 

 

Of course it's to each his own, everyone's tastes are different. My last three cruises were on the Norwegian pearl. Most of the meals were in the main dining room though we did try the Italian restaurant , le bistro and Cagney's. Every breakfast and every dinner was good to excellent. Some nights and mornings service was a little slower than others but nothing drastic. The selections and quality of the meals were great. And I know it's cooked fresh. The one and only complaint I had to make was that one morning there was a bit of eggshell in my eggs Benedict. But I was promptly brought a new meal, there are so many choices you're definitely going to find something you really like. And I just heard today that Norwegin is revamping their main dining room menus. Enjoy your cruise, and if you're a foodie like i am and want to try different things just request appetizer portions on the main dish for meal portions on the appetizer dishes, and they will gladly do this for you

 

 

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[coyboy1971]

I'm a foodie and frequent traveler. I find the food to be a good value and usually well presented at the price point of a cruise...and would compare it to high end banquet cuisine or better...like you would find in a 4 or 5 star hotel. I'm always very happy, but I don't go on a mass market cruise expecting Le Cirque or Guy Savoy 3 Michelin star cuisine. I think NCL also does a great job on the wine list. (Insider tip, ask the wine steward to show you the depleted inventory list and save 30% or more on reserve wines that are off the menu to due limited supply.). Cheers and happy cruising.

 

 

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[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

I did Carnival Breeze followed by Getaway in May & was surprised at how much the quality of food had improved on NCL. The filet mignon at Cagney's was so tender you could, & I did cut it with a fork. The prime rib at O'Sheehans was delish altho' I read today that it was tasteless.:confused:

 

The food on Carnival was okay especially the lunch choices (Guy's, Mongolian Wok, Tandoor) & the Italian restaurant but the MDR food IMO not as good as on NCL.

 

Looking forward to trying Le Cirque on HAL next month to see if it's a cut above.;)

 

~ Jo ~:)

[KeithJenner]

The other day, my wife and I had a meal. We both ordered the same thing. I really liked it, she didn't like it at all.

 

I considered the possibility that they cooked the same dish two totally different ways resulting in a great dish for me and a terrible one for her.

 

Or, just possibly, it was just a difference in our tastes. For that very reason, I tend to try food for myself rather than rely on my wife to decide whether I may like it or not.

 

I think the same sort of logic can apply to reviews on this site. :)

[FitchburgWIFamily]

How can opinions be so different:

Options are different on different ships.

- Ship in Europe still had cold fruit soups on buffet at lunch, much better Indian food on the buffet, and English breakfast (beans, grilled tomatoes, big fat encased sausages). Ship in America had much better breakfast (sorry England…but beans for breakfast is just not my thing) and a better salad bar on the buffet.

-

The quality of the food varies by venue:

IMO, MDR better than buffet, specialty dining better than MDR. So, if a family cruises that wants the convenience of the buffet, they might miss out on some better options in the MDR. That family might get off the same boat I did and say “Eh…the food was OK”

People have different tolerance:

IMO, some people have a hard time making the distinction between “not to my taste” and “absolutely awful”. I had a chocolate cake dessert in the MDR that I found a trifle bland and a bit dry. Does that make it awful or not to my taste? So, I just remembered to order other desserts the next time. Waiter who noticed I didn’t devour the cake offered to bring me a different option that night, but I knew I wouldn’t die if I went to bed with only half my cake eaten.

The venue frames opinion:

A crowded loud venue, a feeling of being rushed, a long wait for a table all can contribute to a negative perception of the meal, even if the food itself was OK. Two diners in the same dining room ordering the same meal might have different impressions if one comes in at an off peak hour and has a nice leisurely meal and the other waited 45 minutes for a table at the height of the dinner rush.

We all have our own agenda:

There are posters here who will die on the NCL sword, defending their line with their last breath. There are posters here who feel compelled to get on every thread and make a negative comment. Whatever their motives are, they can lead to misrepresentation of the facts. Like sample data…throw off the best reviews throw out the worst, and find the truth.

IMO…and that is all it is, my opinion: it is great fun to be on a ship and have so many choices for so many different kinds of food. Even hamburgers and hot dogs taste good when eaten on the sunny deck of a ship at sea.

[Okmyx]

To the OP, if you like chain restaurants like Olive Garden then you will likely have no complaints on NCL. I think it's all about expectations, and many reviews of the food are influenced by factors not typically included with a restaurant review...such as being on a ship! Then again, some people seem to have no taste whatsoever and post the most horrible reviews of the food. For myself, I thought the food did not meet my expectations but this won't stop me from going again...I just now know not to expect the caliber of food I had thought - based on the reviews - I would receive. Remember that lots of food, to the best of my knowledge (someone correct me if incorrect), is frozen on a ship and this will affect the taste of what you might normally receive fresh in any upscale restaurant.

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Remember that lots of food, to the best of my knowledge (someone correct me if incorrect), is frozen on a ship and this will affect the taste of what you might normally receive fresh in any upscale restaurant.

 

I don't think this is necessarily the issue.

 

When you are in an upscale restaurant, you order your food and it is prepared for you. In the MDR I assume the food is pre prepared (I can't see how it could be any different when you consider the numbers involved). Probably there is more of the personal touch in the speciality restaurants, and this has, in my experience, been shown in the quality you receive.

 

I have eaten in some very upmarket places (The UK House of Lords, very upmarket hotels and clubs, Royal Ascot and Wimbledon members rooms, places like that) where the food is being produced for a quite large groups of people, and almost always it is not as good as you can get at a half decent restaurant. It is that individual attention that is missing, and to be honest I wouldn't expect.

 

As long as you go onboard with realistic expectations, don't worry about what was apparently served decades ago when the cruise industry was totally different and average ship was not comparable to what is being build now, then you will probably find that it is perfectly acceptable. If you expect something comparable to a top end restaurant then you will probably be disappointed.

[Okmyx]

I don't think this is necessarily the issue.

 

But, is it accurate to assume that much of the food on a cruise is frozen?

 

When you are in an upscale restaurant, you order your food and it is prepared for you. In the MDR I assume the food is pre prepared (I can't see how it could be any different when you consider the numbers involved). Probably there is more of the personal touch in the speciality restaurants, and this has, in my experience, been shown in the quality you receive.

 

I had the UDP on my cruise. I thought the speciality restaurants were okay but not great by any means. I only ate in the MDR for one lunch and a few breakfasts, which I thought were - in general - good. I actually like breakfast there, but that's not hard to screw up.

 

 

 

As long as you go onboard with realistic expectations, don't worry about what was apparently served decades ago when the cruise industry was totally different and average ship was not comparable to what is being build now, then you will probably find that it is perfectly acceptable. If you expect something comparable to a top end restaurant then you will probably be disappointed.

 

 

I think that was my point. With proper expectations (ie. Low low low expectations) we would all be happy. :)

 

 

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[Love my butler]

There is nothing wrong with Olive Garden. It's decent food at a reasonable price. About what you will receive on an NCL cruise. So many people have the false perception that the cuisine on NCL will be just awesome, it aint. Maybe 10-15 years ago, but now it's basically Olive Garden with often worse service.

[KeithJenner]

I honestly can't say what food is frozen. Quite a bit I'd assume.

 

In my experience, the speciality restaurants have generally been good, but it wouldn't be too hard to find somewhere better on land. There are some (the Italian for example) that I don't think are great, but other people really like and others (for me, Cagneys Moderno and Le Bistro) which I really like but others didn't rate. All opinions :)

 

I'm not disagreeing with your main point by the way. I just think that the biggest thing people forget is that they are serving thousands of people every night. No restaurant does that, so it's a bit strange that people would expect the same results.

 

Your point about frozen foods is valid, and is actually part of a big issue. Most decent restaurants will be having regular deliveries. NCL ships restock once a week. Once again they just aren't comparable.

 

Having said that, they could restock more often. It's the cruise lines decision not to pick up fresh produce along the way I presume.