NCL ruined our anniversary

[GoofyCrew]

I would have just kept the champagne flowing. :D

 

It was only a small portion of the cruise to celebrate so many wonderful years together! The same thing could happen at the restaurant down the street from your house. Frustrating? Yes. But enough to ruin such an important celebration? Nope.

[justhere]

Nobody here seems to be saying that the experience was acceptable. It was not. However, the general consensus is that the reaction was over the top. It was.

Exactly. The experience was without a doubt unacceptable. I do find it interesting that the OP chose to spend time speaking with guest services et al and could have spent that time waiting for the steak to be recooked. As another poster noted, I'm sure their reorder would have taken priority and would not have taken too long to prepare.

 

That would have at least mitigated some of the problem and allowed the OP to have the dinner they wanted albeit with a snafu in the middle.

 

While eating, a simple "please send the manager over" and then an explanation and perhaps an expectation of "I don't feel we should have to pay for such poor service" might have taken care of the whole issue.

 

In my opinion something can only ruin the experience if you let it.

[SissasMomE]

Exactly. The experience was without a doubt unacceptable. I do find it interesting that the OP chose to spend time speaking with guest services et al and could have spent that time waiting for the steak to be recooked. As another poster noted, I'm sure their reorder would have taken priority and would not have taken too long to prepare.

 

That would have at least mitigated some of the problem and allowed the OP to have the dinner they wanted albeit with a snafu in the middle.

 

While eating, a simple "please send the manager over" and then an explanation and perhaps an expectation of "I don't feel we should have to pay for such poor service" might have taken care of the whole issue.

 

In my opinion something can only ruin the experience if you let it.

 

Perfectly stated. Last time we were in Le Bistro, everyone has a pretty good meal, but me. I just didn't care for it. Big freakin' deal. I enjoyed the company of my husband and family, drank my wine, and had something later from a different venue. I just cannot understand wasting time being angry or upset over something when you're on vacation!

[ColinIllinois]

Nobody here seems to be saying that the experience was acceptable. It was not. However, the general consensus is that the reaction was over the top. It was.

 

 

Bingo.

[maywell]

Exactly. Now it's just ... laughable .. with some of these comments.

 

I'd hate to see how some of you would react to a life-altering event!

 

I go through all time, just had one this morning matter of fact. I'm totally jaded about pretty much everything, nothing shocks me anymore. You either adapt and make the best of a bad situation / overcome it or sink and drown / wallow in pity, that pretty much it.

 

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[SeaShark]

:rolleyes:

 

 

We embarked on a 2 day CTN aboard the Norwegian Gem. While onboard we reserved a table at Le Bistro for dinner to celebrate a personal occasion. While the meal started out well enough, the preparation of the entrée was not up to expectations. This service failure received the attention of the Restaurant Manager, Guest Services, and the Hotel Director; however we declined their efforts to remedy the situation as we felt that the moment had already passed.

 

 

 

That is all thats left once you strip out all of the unnecessary drama.

[tmj116]

These people are celebrating their 35th anniversary!! So obviously they doing something right and the people cooking at this restaurant are NOT cooking for the whole ship so better service should be expected!! Why can't she complain? And who are you to say what can be complained about. You people should have just read the comment and kept it moving. You make people not want to share their experiences, telling them what they can complain about! This is just crazy.

[SissasMomE]

:rolleyes:

 

 

We embarked on a 2 day CTN aboard the Norwegian Gem. While onboard we reserved a table at Le Bistro for dinner to celebrate a personal occasion. While the meal started out well enough, the preparation of the entrée was not up to expectations. This service failure received the attention of the Restaurant Manager, Guest Services, and the Hotel Director; however we declined their efforts to remedy the situation as we felt that the moment had already passed.

 

 

 

That is all thats left once you strip out all of the unnecessary drama.

 

Ha! Excellent ;)

[tmj116]

Perfectly stated. Last time we were in Le Bistro, everyone has a pretty good meal, but me. I just didn't care for it. Big freakin' deal. I enjoyed the company of my husband and family, drank my wine, and had something later from a different venue. I just cannot understand wasting time being angry or upset over something when you're on vacation!

 

Big freaking deal? Yes it should have been. you're obviously one of those people that'll accept anything. Smh no wonder they give crap service cause no one thinks its a big deal.

[SuiteTraveler]

In future, order steak (or lamb chops) cooked no more than Medium Rare, because that is the best way to cook it to get the right balance of tenderness and cooking. NCL prepares Medium Rare more like Medium, btw. Since I truly prefer Medium Rare, I order all steaks Rare on NCL. Part of this is a cultural issue. I live in Texas where we have a ton of steak houses including some of the finest in the world. Medium Rare here (cool red center) is very different from Medium Rare in most parts of the US which tend to serve something more like Medium. So I have found outside of Texas, I need to order Rare to get the Medium Rare I am used to. If the steak is ordered Medium, then you are most likely going to get more like Medium Well and it's going to be tough and dry as you experienced. I also consider that on a cruise ship, the steak might have more resting time due to all the tables being served. That means it may be kept under a heat lamp in the kitchen continuing to cook. I want to get my steak the closest possible to Medium Rare, so I ask for Rare in order to increase my chances of getting Medium Rare. I'd say 90-95% of the time my request for rare results in a successful Medium Rare steak. Once in a while, I still get some overcooked piece of steak (or lamb.) At any rate, most foodies agree that Medium Rare is the optimal way to cook steak and this is why:

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/beefporkothermeats/a/Medium-Rare-Steaks.htm

 

BTW, although we have successfully had Cote du Boeuff in Le Bistro on both the NCL Jade and NCL Epic, I think you would have been better off ordering beef in Cagney's (where it is Certified Angus Beef) and just about anything else in Le Bistro. Sorry you had a disappointing dining experience. Perhaps the information I gave you above about the best way to cook and order steak will assist you in having a better experience from now on, wherever you eat steak.

[mydreamvacation]

I'm sorry that your special night ended up so disappointing. I'm curious though why you didn't ask them to give you a do over on the second night. I'm sure they would've made every effort to have a meal be flawless yes granted it would not be your actual anniversary night but the following one but as someone who's been married 25 years myself we sometimes have to celebrate on dates other than our actual anniversary due to work obligations etc.

At any rate congratulations on 35 years together

[dnl_in_Illinois]

No point writing anything negative here about NCL. So far after two trips with the line and a third one booked, I have been extremely happy, but the experience of the OP would really **** me off. Why so many people jump to the defense of the cruise line, when it seems obvious they have really messed up I don't get.

You have to listen to bad comments as well as the overwhelming amount of good ones. If it's not made public, those responsible are hardly likely to improve.

Given in this case it was only a two nighter, and their anniversary, I think it is a real shame.

Stop berating people for genuine complaints, it's to everyone's benefit that these are aired here.

 

I would add to this positive commentary that of all the cruise lines, NCL seems most obvious about wanting to make things right. They value criticism as it is a means to evaluate their people as well. I am sure all cruise lines value input good or bad, but NCL is among those who actually read these boards. Ask them.

[vent1020]

Thank you

We do enjoy NCL alot, and thought this site was to share experiences, not get berated for sharing a poor experience.

 

We would of loved and enjoyed a three hour dinner together. ...if we got an edible meal.

 

Not saying this is the worst thing in life, was just sharing a negative experience.

 

Safe sailing

 

I can see how it "ruined" your experience. You know, I love these boards for the plethora of information, but SO MANY people were OBVIOUSLY never brought up knowing the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it at all."

 

When you have expectations of something and it doesn't go your way it can be disappointing, sometimes VERY disappointing. Not everyone can just "blow off" a bad experience like obviously a lot of you people can do. :rolleyes:

[conandrob240]

There is a difference between stating a problem or issue and exclaiming that NCL ruined your anniversary so dramatically. It is silly. I am all for sharing the good along with the bad in experiences. But stop being so dramatic.

 

Okay, you had a slow meal and a poorly cooked steak. From the description, it sounds like they were willing to not only bring you another but also offer your some sort of restitution (like the meal is free or similar). Personally, i would have made a meal out of the apps and dessert, enjoyed my champagne and moved on, happy enough to have the $40 taken off. Or, order another bottle of champagne and wait for a better steak and probably still had the $40 taken off.

Edited November 14, 2014 by conandrob240

[RickinNYC]

The OP's dining experience would have irritated me, absolutely, but I definitely wouldn't have allowed it to ruin the rest of my weekend cruise.

 

I'm just curious, however. What were you hoping to gain going to guest services beyond notifying them of your experience? Per your post, they tried to make amends, which you refused. Or am I missing something?

 

If this were a two night CTN, then why not accept their apology and offer to make things right be going to a specialty restaurant the second night?

[KevInPitt]

Wow, if that doesn't ruin a relationship - nothing will!!![emoji50]

 

No offense OP, if not one of you was hopitalized, stucked with any object like feces or pipe, filed a police report that took 8 hours with indifferent cops, dealt with a crazy person that wanted to picked a fight, being rob at gunpoint on way from the restaurant or seen someone drop dead right into your bowl of soup, etc .. Then its not as bad as you think compare some of the disaters that happen to others on their anniversaries or just dining out.

 

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All those things are fairly common on a Carnival cruise... trust me, I know.

[maywell]

All those things are fairly common on a Carnival cruise... trust me, I know.

I have a couple of tame bad dining experiences with Carnival and some pretty horrific ones from some land-based restaurants especially Uno's and Red Losbter. Trust me, what happen to the OP is pretty mild compare to that....

 

 

Yeah, the OP overacted that it was a complete disaster especially since NCL offered to replace the meal and make up it for. But the OP were the ones that decline, it sll said and done - Me personal, I would at least made refund the meal, gotten a second meal for another time and/or got free wine out whole mess. But I guess the OP never throughly experienced some bad food service like roaches , food spill on them, frozen meal that wasn't heated or warmed up 1st, a hostile waiter that tried to stab another co-worker or one that had an extremely bad attitude before customer even sat down. I have plently of bad stories of dining gone awry that happen to me.

 

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[geekybiker]

This happens everywhere once in awhile. Usually you get the meal comp'ed and that's the end of it. Unfortunate that it happened on an important day, but what are you going to do?

[champagne123]

Just my 2 cents

 

If one comes to the boards to complain (whether it be legitimate or not), you have to expect one of two things.

 

A. You may get people that empathize with your situation

 

B. You may get people that think the situation you are complaining about is ridiculous.

 

You cannot come on here and expect everyone to agree with you. You are leaving yourself wide open for disappointment.

 

If you are not happy with the responses here because it is not what you wanted to hear, than don't post. Period.

 

Me? My opinion? I just thought to myself....did someone die?

I think EVERY single person on these boards have had at LEAST one terrible, inedible meal on a cruise ship. If everyone posted "my ____(fill in the blank) was RUINED. This post was so melodramatic to me. JMO

[LrgPizza]

Everyone agrees that it sounds like a horrible meal. No one is faulting Spidey for that. The issue is with allowing it to ruin an entire anniversary. Life is to short to base happiness on a dining experience.

[DirtyDawg]

I can see how it "ruined" your experience. You know, I love these boards for the plethora of information, but SO MANY people were OBVIOUSLY never brought up knowing the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it at all."

 

When you have expectations of something and it doesn't go your way it can be disappointing, sometimes VERY disappointing. Not everyone can just "blow off" a bad experience like obviously a lot of you people can do. :rolleyes:

 

I agree with you but I'd but it this way; 'Not everyone can just "blow off" a bad experience like obviously a lot of you people can do' when it's not your bad experience.;)

 

And I thought the crowd over on the Celebrity board were nasty....

 

To the OP (Even though I highly doubt she's hanging around here any longer) sorry about your bad experience. I hope you found another way to properly celebrate your anniversary.

[FF Woman]

I would have ordered a salad and one of their yummy desserts and called it an evening.

 

I'm sorry that a dinner you were obviously looking forward to turned out so badly.

 

And congratulations on 35 years of marriage!

[johnsak123]

A bit melodramatic don't you think

Its only a meal

At least you two were together and probably had good health

Let it go.OMG Is that a song from frozen

[dalgirl]

OP - did you pay the cover and for the champagne? If you did, I am shocked, as my experience with NCL is that they would have made some or all of it good for you. Did you ask? I am sure you told them that it was a special anniversary. Otherwise, anniversaries come and go - even on special occasions.

 

And if you had DH's favorite anniversary "gift" later that night, then it was only a bad dinner - the anniversary was a hit:p

[Out to sea!]

Who knew a single steak had the power to ruin an anniversary? :rolleyes: