Shrimp Cocktail

[callmebetty]

You will have to spend your cruising time finding something else to enjoy: I don't think either are available in the MDRs anymore. In fact a lot of cruise lines are cutting back on shrimp. You can get Escargot at Le Bistro. I don't know about Cagney's.

Cagney's has a shrimp cockatil trio. They were fairly large.

 

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[BirdTravels]

I guess this is another reason Lobster is off the menu...too old school? :confused:

This is actually an interesting topic. Since NCL removed the lobsters from it's menus in August of 2016 (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2401137) we have watch the lobster consumption habits on our cruises.

 

We were on a RCL cruise last month and found that a large percentage of patrons did not order lobster on "lobster night" in the main dining room. Those who did, had to order 2 and 3 servicing because they were so small.

 

We were on a cruise on the Escape last week and when we dined at Bayamo (the new Ocean Blue), I didn't see anyone ordering lobster (although it is the only place on the ship you could get it). Actually, this is not quite true since I did order lobster, but was the only one in the dining room that I could see that had it as their main course.

 

We have at least one more NCL and one more RCL cruise booked over the next few months, so we'll continue to see if lobsters are really a draw to cruise ship passengers,,, or if they have truly become "old school" like the shrimp cocktail.

[Something fun!]

You can get a popcorn shrimp appetizer for lunch and some dinners in the MDRs. I suggest ordering 2 as well.

[newmexicoNita]

I was on an NCL cruise in december (Breakaway). They had both escargot and shrimp on the MDR menu(not every night, but on one or 2). It was delicious (granted escargot is in butter, but seafood in general is extremely healthy...soo as far as a slim down contemporary menu that would mean more shrimp cocktail not less)!

thanks, very good to know and a positive for many

[newmexicoNita]

Cagney's has a shrimp cockatil trio. They were fairly large.

 

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Great to know as we will be eating in Cagney's as well as Le Bistro next week on the Dawn.:p:p

[James_Elmore]

Escargot can be found in MDR at least one night I it is on a "biscuit" I forgot what they called it but I had it one night

 

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[Relax@Sea]

We have only been on three cruises. They have all been on Celebrity. My wife always has two shrimp cocktails in the MDR every night. Can she get them on the Norwegian Gem?

 

Yes you can get it. If they don't have it in the main dining room ask for it and you will most likely get it. maybe not the first night but maybe the rest of the week you will get it if it is on the ship

Don't be afraid of asking for it

[Love my butler]

If you are in a suite you can get them for lunch every day!!

 

Not anymore. The new 'improved' VIP lunch menu eliminated the shrimp cocktail.

 

For your convenience of course.........

[blitheone]

Not anymore. The new 'improved' VIP lunch menu eliminated the shrimp cocktail.

 

For your convenience of course.........

 

When did that change? We sailed in the Pearl's Owners Suite on April 1st and had them.

[MizDemeanor]

They are available in Haven. They are very large.

 

Same size is used in Teppanyaki for combinations.

 

 

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[Victress2007]

I had an Avocado Shrimp Appetizer on my last cruise that was wonderful!

 

Vic

[littlelulu01]

They haven't cut back. They have adapted their menus to meet the tastes of the contemporary cruiser. Snails swimming in butter and shrimps are menus from the 70's and 80's. Even Le Bistro has "skinny down" the recipe for their snails.

 

Is this response in jest? They have cutback and raised prices. The younger generation hasn’t shunned shrimp for their health :') . I’m not sure where you live but shrimp isn’t a passé menu item from the 70’s and 80’s. And what exactly was the, “skinny down” changes? Le’ Bistro escargot is still swimming in oil - yuck.

 

 

Ncl replaced lobster with shrimp, not because folks liked shrimp better but because it’s less expensive. Surf and turf in most venues in the USA is lobster and steak. On Ncl surf and turf is now shrimp and steak. Sorry but that’s a joke and a downgrade in the eyes of most passengers. Taking lobster off speciality menus, replacing lobster dishes with shrimp and reduced size of shrimp was a shame imo. I would be much happier to pay more $ for speciality dinners with better/not worse quality then to get a free at sea speciality dinner perk.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Ncl cruises but I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade or question the motive behind some of these blind admiration of a company posts.

 

 

Shrimp and lobster wholesale prices are both less expensive in March of 2018 than they were in March 2015. In 2015 lobster and shrimp was readily available on Ncl ships and it was a real treat for most to get a good lobster speciality dinner. Mdr- I could care less about but removing from speciality was really cheap. There is simply no option for lobster on most ships.

[Maraprince]

I guess this is another reason Lobster is off the menu...too old school? :confused:

 

 

No...cost saving by removing it from MDR menus unlessl you are willing to pay extra for it via high price of cabin (Haven).

I guess we are of the "old" school mindset of being offered foods that we do not eat on a daily basis at home. We still look at lobster and shrimp as a treat.

 

MARAPRINCE

[littlelulu01]

No...cost saving by removing it from MDR menus unlessl you are willing to pay extra for it via high price of cabin (Haven).

I guess we are of the "old" school mindset of being offered foods that we do not eat on a daily basis at home. We still look at lobster and shrimp as a treat.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

It’s not old school. My kids and their friends wouldn’t find lobster and shrimp at their college campus dining hall because it’s too expensive. but if they are taken to a nice seafood and steak house you better bet they will order it any day over a hamburger if allowed to.

[bbryan5]

The reason NCL removed the lobster is obvious.. It's for "our convenience"...

[newmexicoNita]

Is this response in jest? They have cutback and raised prices. The younger generation hasn’t shunned shrimp for their health :') . I’m not sure where you live but shrimp isn’t a passé menu item from the 70’s and 80’s. And what exactly was the, “skinny down” changes? Le’ Bistro escargot is still swimming in oil - yuck.

 

 

Ncl replaced lobster with shrimp, not because folks liked shrimp better but because it’s less expensive. Surf and turf in most venues in the USA is lobster and steak. On Ncl surf and turf is now shrimp and steak. Sorry but that’s a joke and a downgrade in the eyes of most passengers. Taking lobster off speciality menus, replacing lobster dishes with shrimp and reduced size of shrimp was a shame imo. I would be much happier to pay more $ for speciality dinners with better/not worse quality then to get a free at sea speciality dinner perk.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Ncl cruises but I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade or question the motive behind some of these blind admiration of a company posts.

 

 

Shrimp and lobster wholesale prices are both less expensive in March of 2018 than they were in March 2015. In 2015 lobster and shrimp was readily available on Ncl ships and it was a real treat for most to get a good lobster speciality dinner. Mdr- I could care less about but removing from speciality was really cheap. There is simply no option for lobster on most ships.

well if the Lobster and Shrimp is cheaper now than in 2015, you do not live where we do. We have watched Shrimp go up a couple of times a year here. Lobster, the little frozen Lobster tails may be down a bit but the quality is horrible. Decent Lobster is no cheaper than it was 3 years ago. And some miss priced seafood chains are starting to call Shrimp and Steak, Surf and Turf. This doesn't mean I am happy with it being removed from the ships, but it does mean, I am not quite sure where you are getting your information. :confused:

[LrgPizza]

What NCL did was to stop spending a huge portion on it's food budget on a few expensive items, and instead chose to spread it around a little more. In doing that, they've improved all menus across the board. (At least this is what they announced they were doing, and it's been my personal experience that food, overall, is much better since they got rid of the pricey items.)

[littlelulu01]

well if the Lobster and Shrimp is cheaper now than in 2015, you do not live where we do. We have watched Shrimp go up a couple of times a year here. Lobster, the little frozen Lobster tails may be down a bit but the quality is horrible. Decent Lobster is no cheaper than it was 3 years ago. And some miss priced seafood chains are starting to call Shrimp and Steak, Surf and Turf. This doesn't mean I am happy with it being removed from the ships, but it does mean, I am not quite sure where you are getting your information. :confused:

 

Increases in the cost consumers at a restaurant or store could easily be attributed to higher costs of labor, rent... but if you’re looking at the actual average wholesale USA prices of shrimp/lb; in March 2015 it was $17.45. In March of 2017 it was $13.78. in March, 2018 it was $12.79.

 

Any decent seafood and steakhouse serves lobster. Surf and turf can be anything that’s meat and seafood so technically I guess you can serve a hotdog and fake crab and call it surf and turf. The standard for surf and turf according to Wikipedia is lobster tail and filet mignon.

Edited April 30, 2018 by littlelulu01

[littlelulu01]

What NCL did was to stop spending a huge portion on it's food budget on a few expensive items, and instead chose to spread it around a little more. In doing that, they've improved all menus across the board. (At least this is what they announced they were doing, and it's been my personal experience that food, overall, is much better since they got rid of the pricey items.)

 

This makes much more sense than the excuse that younger people don’t like lobster and shrimp. In October, 2017 the suite lunch had a seafood pasta dish on lunch menu. The shrimp and scallops looked so small that we joked that they were likely canned. I’d take a vegetarian dish with fresh sautéed veggies any day over those pitiful shrimp. They did serve shrimp cocktail. Not the larger 21-25 count they previously served, It was the 31-40 count which I was fine with. It would be a shame taking them off suite lunch menu entirely. There’s a fine line with cost savings and food quality. Shrimp is something most people can afford to eat often at home. If shrimp is too expensive for a cruise line budget it tells me the cruise line budget is to feed substantially subpar compared to most land based dining venues. It’s also super easy to throw together. Nothing screams wow special dinner to me but to axe the option for suite lunch is getting terribley cheap. An excellent cut of filet minion or lobster is a real treat on a cruise ship. I understand cutting costs and eliminating these items from mdr in lieu of tasty alternatives but speciality dining and suites folks have paid /are willing to pay for higher quality offerings.

[newmexicoNita]

Increases in the cost consumers at a restaurant or store could easily be attributed to higher costs of labor, rent... but if you’re looking at the actual average wholesale USA prices of shrimp/lb; in March 2015 it was $17.45. In March of 2017 it was $13.78. in March, 2018 it was $12.79.

 

Any decent seafood and steakhouse serves lobster. Surf and turf can be anything that’s meat and seafood so technically I guess you can serve a hotdog and fake crab and call it surf and turf. The standard for surf and turf according to Wikipedia is lobster tail and filet mignon.

Well I do not argue a really top level restaurant does consider Surf and Turf as filet and lobster tail, but I have seen many mid priced establishments that have taken it to mean a lessor cut of meat and shrimp. As for the cost of shrimp: here it has gone from about $15 a lb to right at $20 in the past 5 years. It seems to really depend on where you live. Of course the increase could have to do with labor costs, but the fact is, still the price has gone up. Now, I have to say, I think we have gotten off topic somewhat. Maybe this discussion should be somewhere else and not on CC.:halo:

[Maraprince]

So, is shrimp cocktail available in the MDRs or not?

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Love my butler]

So, is shrimp cocktail available in the MDRs or not?

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Not. However, sometimes you can find some tiny shrimp in the buffet. All you can eat.

[Rala]

Shrimp is so easy to cook...defrost some jumbo shrimp...throw them in boiling water..when they turn pink...they're done. Peel, chill and eat. so yummy..so freaking easy!

Cocktail sauce...ketchup, a bit of tabasco or Texas Pete, a splash of worcestershire, a splash of lemon, and some horseradish...mix and dip that shrimp!

Cheap and easy. Do it at home. Don't worry about it on vacation!

 

If the shrimp are frozen and unpeeled, you will want to de-vein them as well by cutting along the back of the shrimp and removing the dark "vein" (which is kind of a pain the neck and somewhat time-consuming)...not "freaking easy" unless you enjoy consuming shrimp POOP which is what the "vein" mostly consists of. Just FYI :)

[candigirl41]

I had them one night at dinner recently. I know they don't serve them every night. That is one of the things I like about Carnival, shrimp cocktail every night.

 

Candi

[vince_g]

Not. However, sometimes you can find some tiny shrimp in the buffet. All you can eat.

 

Just off the Dawn, and there was shrimp cocktail twice in the buffet. They were not quite the size Cagney's serves, but they were probably the 21-25 per lb. size. They even had the dill on them like Cagney's does. They were really very good.