Is the lobster better on New England Cruise?

[Jetswdo]

I always found lobster at MDR on Princess, decent- yes I know it was frozen, but it was ok. On Celebrity it was awful accept in Murano/Normandie where it was excellent.

 

On an upcoming N.E. cruise, where I will be probably sick of "lobstah" as will be eating the sandwiches at lunch ports at least twice, is the lobster fresh from Maine on those cruises? If not, I will probably skip it on the Regal altogether, unless it is the really good fresh one.

 

Maybe if we do the steakhouse that night- If the lobster is that much better there anyway, I will order it, if not "lobstahed"out.

[ar1950]

I always found lobster at MDR on Princess, decent- yes I know it was frozen, but it was ok. On Celebrity it was awful accept in Murano/Normandie where it was excellent.

 

On an upcoming N.E. cruise, where I will be probably sick of "lobstah" as will be eating the sandwiches at lunch ports at least twice, is the lobster fresh from Maine on those cruises? If not, I will probably skip it on the Regal altogether, unless it is the really good fresh one.

 

Maybe if we do the steakhouse that night- If the lobster is that much better there anyway, I will order it, if not "lobstahed"out.

 

Don't miss the "before 4 pm" lobster special in one of the restaurants in Bar Harbor (its a corner restaurant on the corner of the main drag and a side street, don't recall the name, special advertised in the window). Clam chowder, lobster, blueberry beer and blueberry pie. Great price and food when we were there.

 

Sorry, have no idea about where they source the lobster for New England cruises. Lobster has been hit or miss on our Princess cruises. I would probably try it anyway. Might be good.

 

And as far as '"lobstahed"out', no such thing.:D

Edited June 8, 2016 by ar1950

[Pam in CA]

Much better in any port north of Cape Cod. This is where the cold water is and while some say Maine lobster is the best, lobsters don't know about state lines. Any fresh cold water lobster is better. Having lived almost 35 years north of Boston, I don't eat the lobster onboard. It just doesn't compare. That makes me a lobster snob.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Pam in CA

[ar1950]

Much better in any port north of Cape Cod. This is where the cold water is and while some say Maine lobster is the best, lobsters don't know about state lines. Any fresh cold water lobster is better. Having lived almost 35 years north of Boston, I don't eat the lobster onboard. It just doesn't compare. That makes me a lobster snob.

 

Maybe, maybe not. My wife is from Maine, so, yeah, we know and like good lobster. That said, we live in Arizona so not much chance of a lot of live lobsters here. We have found that our local Costco sells frozen Maine lobster tails sometimes, and, if you check the color and texture of the meat on the open area of the tail, you can get some really good ones if you know what to look for. Just make sure that the meat is white and not shrunken into the shell and it will likely taste close to fresh. Any discoloration of the meat and it will taste "off" or, more likely, be really bad tasting (same applies to Alaskan king crab legs that they sell in Costco).

 

Irrespective of all of that, there is nothing like "fresh from the lobster pound" lobster. Eat as much as you can when in New England is my motto. :cool:

[chengkp75]

I always found lobster at MDR on Princess, decent- yes I know it was frozen, but it was ok. On Celebrity it was awful accept in Murano/Normandie where it was excellent.

 

On an upcoming N.E. cruise, where I will be probably sick of "lobstah" as will be eating the sandwiches at lunch ports at least twice, is the lobster fresh from Maine on those cruises? If not, I will probably skip it on the Regal altogether, unless it is the really good fresh one.

 

Maybe if we do the steakhouse that night- If the lobster is that much better there anyway, I will order it, if not "lobstahed"out.

 

If they are serving only tails, they are frozen. Some lines (don't know about Princess) will have whole lobsters in the specialty restaurants and these will have been stored live onboard. Unless they have a "live tank" onboard, they can be kept in the chill boxes for about 2 days.

 

While lobster rolls can be very good, I would recommend a whole bug for lunch while in Portland or Bar Harbor. Many places that serve rolls do not include the claw or knuckle meat, which is by far the best part.

[cb at sea]

ALL seafood is "previously" frozen....unless you catch it yourself!

[chengkp75]

ALL seafood is "previously" frozen....unless you catch it yourself!

 

Ah, no. You can go to any number of fishmongers in New England and buy live lobster. They will also frequently ship it anywhere in the US, live. When our kids were little, they used to number the shells and have lobster races across the kitchen floor. Also, clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops are purchased live.

[emmak8]

The lobster on the ship is not the best. Rubbery most of the time. If you are visiting New England ports, try the fresh lobster. What a difference!

[Mom33]

I always found lobster at MDR on Princess, decent- yes I know it was frozen, but it was ok. On Celebrity it was awful accept in Murano/Normandie where it was excellent.

 

On an upcoming N.E. cruise, where I will be probably sick of "lobstah" as will be eating the sandwiches at lunch ports at least twice, is the lobster fresh from Maine on those cruises? If not, I will probably skip it on the Regal altogether, unless it is the really good fresh one.

 

Maybe if we do the steakhouse that night- If the lobster is that much better there anyway, I will order it, if not "lobstahed"out.

 

Is the lobster better on New England Cruise?

 

Only if you get off the ship!:D

[Baystate]

Much better in any port north of Cape Cod. This is where the cold water is and while some say Maine lobster is the best, lobsters don't know about state lines. Any fresh cold water lobster is better. Having lived almost 35 years north of Boston, I don't eat the lobster onboard. It just doesn't compare. That makes me a lobster snob.

 

I always want to laugh when when people say, "Well, Maine lobster is better."

 

I never eat the lobster onboard either, but to be fair, I can have it whenever I want.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Baystate

[donaldsc]

The lobster is much better on New England cruises - as long as you get off the ship and go to a lobster pound and have a a real New England lobster dinner instead of a frozen ship lobster dinner.

 

DON

[Hlitner]

The lobster is much better on New England cruises - as long as you get off the ship and go to a lobster pound and have a a real New England lobster dinner instead of a frozen ship lobster dinner.

 

DON

 

ROFL! Could not have said it better. When we do NE/Canada cruises, we usually eat great lobster off the ship :). And we are talking real fresh Maine lobsters.....not those warm water tasteless tails served on nearly all ships. And then there are the wonderful Lobster Rolls.....Oh my!

 

Hank

P.S. Whenever we are on a ship at the Black Falcon cruise terminal (Boston) we love to hike over to James Hook....where they have a huge selection of lobsters in the tanks. The last time we were at that place...there was a large group of officers and other senior staff (from our ship) all indulging.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Hlitner

[neverbeenhere]

Just like salmon in Alaska, enjoy it off the ship. Now I haven't tried the chicken on a Nebraska cruise.:)

[geoherb]

On our Princess cruise to New England and Canada, I was disappointed that the menus were the same ones we had in the Caribbean. I wanted there to be some regional specialties added. But I guess they don't have the inclination to do that. The lobster was the same--frozen tails.

 

I had great lobster in Halifax for lunch at a restaurant near the maritime museum. I had it again at a restaurant near the aquarium in Boston. We were planning on eating lobster rolls in Bar Harbor, but the restaurant (Jordan's) we decided upon had a lunch-time special of haddock mornay that we both ordered. It was delicious.

[Northender]

As a former Bostonian and now a Portland, Mainer, just get off the ship and have a great feed of lobster. :D:D You won't be sorry.

 

And yes, Nova Scotia has really delicious lobster too.:cool:

 

What are the ports you will be stopping and hopefully eating lobster at each one.

 

I do know that our Senator, Susan Collins, was able to get some of the cruise lines to bring lobster onboard when the stop in Portland. Forget which ones though.

[Working 2 Cruise]

On our Princess cruise to New England and Canada, I was disappointed that the menus were the same ones we had in the Caribbean. I wanted there to be some regional specialties added. But I guess they don't have the inclination to do that. The lobster was the same--frozen tails.

 

I had great lobster in Halifax for lunch at a restaurant near the maritime museum. I had it again at a restaurant near the aquarium in Boston. We were planning on eating lobster rolls in Bar Harbor, but the restaurant (Jordan's) we decided upon had a lunch-time special of haddock mornay that we both ordered. It was delicious.

 

Princess has been incorporating local dishes as of last year. For example, on my cruise to Alaska last year, we had crab legs from Tracy's Shack... and other local specialties.

[chengkp75]

As a former Bostonian and now a Portland, Mainer, just get off the ship and have a great feed of lobster. :D:D You won't be sorry.

 

And yes, Nova Scotia has really delicious lobster too.:cool:

 

What are the ports you will be stopping and hopefully eating lobster at each one.

 

I do know that our Senator, Susan Collins, was able to get some of the cruise lines to bring lobster onboard when the stop in Portland. Forget which ones though.

 

I know I'll probably catch heat from the Maine Lobstermen's Association, but the only real difference in Maine lobsters is our restrictive minimum keeper size, and that of all the states and provinces, we are the only ones with a maximum keeper size. You won't find those goliath lobsters you see in Boston in a tank in Maine. We leave those tough old survivors out there to continue breeding and making the stock better.

[skf]

Well, Maine lobster is better

Well. around heah we know the Gulf of Maine Lobsters extends from Provincetown Cape Cod to Yarmouth Nova Scotia. So Theah.

[jpcello]

I'll be on the October 8th Canada/NE cruise. I intend to have lobster (in one form or another) in every port (and probably a little chowda too).

[keithm]

Well, Maine lobster is better

Well. around heah we know the Gulf of Maine Lobsters extends from Provincetown Cape Cod to Yarmouth Nova Scotia. So Theah.

Being from New Hampsheah, I actually can get theah from heah!( this drove my spell check nuts!)

[Jetswdo]

then we probably will not bother eating the lobster aboard the ship for this trip. Yes we know about the lobster special in port at that restaurant near the ship--which we are planning on doing- great minds think alike!

 

I have to say again, I found the Princess ships lobster on second formal night to be ok- but not bad- not great- so I just felt obligated to eat it. But I did not find that it tasted like rubber. For that, I make the claim for Celebrity Blu dining room (I understand the same for MDR)-- but it was very very good in specialty restaurant.

 

I just thought that Princess would have had some deal for Maine fresh lobster on these sailings to make me reconsider...

[Lucky TGO]

Much better in any port north of Cape Cod. This is where the cold water is and while some say Maine lobster is the best, lobsters don't know about state lines. Any fresh cold water lobster is better. Having lived almost 35 years north of Boston, I don't eat the lobster onboard. It just doesn't compare. That makes me a lobster snob.

I live 10 minutes from Boston Pam is correct on this one. I totally agree with you Pam.

Tony

[Coral]

Just like salmon in Alaska, enjoy it off the ship. Now I haven't tried the chicken on a Nebraska cruise.:)

 

Silly person - on Nebraska cruises, you eat beef (and corn), not chicken.

[denatravels]

Although my experience was on Royal Caribbean instead of Princess, I suspect this is likely the same: eat lobster in all the ports!! So yummy and well worth the $$. While I still enjoy lobster on the ships (had on NCL, Royal, and celebrity), it will never be as good as in Maine.

 

 

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[cynbar]

Please make it a point to try fresh lobster prepared several different ways while on your cruise, then report back. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. Seriously, lobster can taste totally different based on its preparation, and people here are passionate about their favorites. Lobster rolls of course are traditional, but also try steamed whole lobster, baked stuffed lobster, a roll with hot buttered lobster instead of cold with mayonnaise (this is local to Connecticut but appearing more now in other places), fried lobster, lobster bisque, lazy man's lobster (baked in a small casserole with butter) ---- I'm sure there are even more I'm not thinking of. All of them are delicious, although a steamed lobster with drawn butter is still #1 for me. An ear of corn on the side plus potato salad makes a perfect meal!