Has there been a significant decline at Cagney’s over the last few years? (poll)

[tomservo]

Over the past year I feel like I’ve seen more and more people posting negative reviews of Cagney’s and talking about a decline in their dining experience, so I wanted to take the pulse of the community to see how people feel about Cagney’s right now. How have your last few visits to Cagney’s been? Do you feel that there has been a significant decline in quality over the last few years, especially compared to other specialty dining restaurants or the MDR?

[Sea saw 56]

Been cruising NCL since 2002, platinum plus - so NCL veterans, we normally eat an average of 3 meals per cruise at Cagneys.

Did so on our April-May cruise on the Epic, have booked 3 nights there for our January cruise on the Getaway.

We have never eaten a meal at Cagneys we didn't like.  

Were disappointed with a few of the menu changes they have made along the way, but the food and ambience are always a fantastic experience for us.

[valleyvillage]

Just off Joy Alaska and Cagney's was better than ever!

[gmbhardy]

Maybe it’s just bad luck but our experiences at Cagney’s have been mediocre at best. We find the filets better at Le Bistro and La Cucina.

[BirdTravels]

Happy that @valleyvillage had a great experience. We have had bad experiences at all of our Cagney’s dinners recently. Most recently (in the past 9 months) on the Joy, Escape, and Getaway. We mentioned it in passing to the Assistant General Manager on the Joy, and she had the Cagney’s restaurant manager track us down in Ocean Blue and apologize to us for the bad experience. I think, in part, that they are understaffed compared to other restaurants. 

[Monica887]

I'm a vegetarian so my experience is different, and I only go because my travel companions love it. I used to appreciate going anyway because the service was excellent and the experience was enjoyable.

 

Last time I went, the sides that I ordered were just ok - frozen tasting onion rings, limp and bland salad tomatoes, and the loaded baked potato was just served with sour cream. When I asked for the other toppings he seemed confused and annoyed (I didn't ask for anything that I haven't gotten automatically in the past - cheese, chives...then he sprinkled one teaspoon full of cheddar onto the potato. )

 

I know the restaurant isn't geared towards me, but the poor service was disappointing. At least I had my giant glass of wine.

[mafig]

Haven't been on NCL in quite a few years but we are considering them for a cruise in the near future.

When I  discuss this with DH and say NCL, the first thing he says is "CAGNEYS."

 

Hope it's still good.

[SlipperyVic]

Cagney's jumped the shark for me when they switched from the old Chicago steakhouse motif a number of years ago.

 

The side sauces used to be much more flavorful and they used to offer a choice of herb butters as a steak topper. Both of these things are small changes but I definitely miss them both. 

 

Service is very much hit or miss depending on which ship and crew you have.

[ShelleyQT]

I think the ambiance at Cagney's has really gone downhill since they began offering the 3-meal dining package as part of the basic cruise fare.  Now the place is always packed, and we've got all these big family reunion groups in there and it can get pretty rowdy.

[broncofan99]

First cruise we ate at Cagney's on Pearl  and it was great. Last cruise on Star was not good, undercooked steaks, cold sides and long times between courses.  Torn for next cruise.  

Edited September 15, 2019 by broncofan99
Typo

[Von & John]

Our last cruise we had one fantastic meal & the other so-so...

Definitely the sides have a taken a hit - both quality & quantity. 

Let's hope our upcoming cruise we have 100% Fantastic Meals vs 50%...

On the flip side - Moderno's on this cruise was the best we have ever had!

Which is interesting - as on the Jewel - the Moderno meats are coming from the Cagney's kitchen...

We'll be on the Getaway in just over 30 days.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Von & John

[SeaShark]

:
Seems like the food might not be as good as it "used to" be. 😟

 

The idiom that familiarity breeds contempt is an old one. It means that the more comfortable one becomes with something the more likely they are to see the flaws in that thing. For instance, a person's feelings about a particular thing can go from optimistic, to complacent, to spiteful without that particular thing changing at all. The day to day proximity to the thing results in a person's mind looking for ways to keep it interesting.

 

The idea that "familiarity breeds contempt" or "the honeymoon is over" or "the sheen is off of the apple" has been around a long time. Things often don't "seem" to be as good as they were "in the beginning". When you took your first cruise, everything was new. Now you know what to expect, you know the routine, and it isn't new and exciting as it once was.

 

We hear a lot of anecdotal evidence that things are worse, but no facts, no hard evidence....just opinion. Interesting that despite the fact that this is just a part of the human condition, we have a hard time admitting that things just might not really be as bad as they "seem".

 

I guess nothing beats the "good old days". 🙄

[tomservo]

I believe Cagney’s used to offer Certified Angus Beef steaks and does not any more. That is one objective measure of a reduction in quality. 

[Casino Comp Chick]

Dinners take way too long, always 2 (+) hours even if the restaurant is empty.

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, ShelleyQT said:

I think the ambiance at Cagney's has really gone downhill since they began offering the 3-meal dining package as part of the basic cruise fare.  Now the place is always packed, and we've got all these big family reunion groups in there and it can get pretty rowdy.

I would agree with that and our service last time plus where they sat us was a bit of a disappointment but as the quality of the food no change at all or if anything it has improved. 

[cruise crazed]

I just got off the Breakaway.  The service at Cagney's was terrible.  They were mixing up orders, bringing them to the wrong tables and acted confused.  However, they were nice .  I almost thought they were server's in training.  We laughed and just cancelled our 2nd  reservation and went to Ocean Blue which was aa very pleasant experience.

[tomservo]

1 hour ago, cruise crazed said:

Ocean Blue which was aa very pleasant experience.

I thought the food and service at Ocean Blue on the Getaway was great but have heard a lot of mixed things about it on the Bliss. I know a lot of this can vary from ship to ship. I wonder if Cagney’s is better or more consistent on some ships in the fleet than others.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

20 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

Maybe it’s just bad luck but our experiences at Cagney’s have been mediocre at best. We find the filets better at Le Bistro and La Cucina.

Hard to follow why the filet would be better in one pay restaurant then another. I gotta' believe that they don't have separate meat lockers for each of the restaurants. Just bad luck would be my guess.

[Just Jo]

I haven't yet had a "bad" meal at Cagney's, yet I find it quite underwhelming, I think because of the service.  DH thinks it's fine and it continues to be one of his favorites which is why we keep going back.  I can say that every single meal at Le Bistro has been amazing with impeccable staff and service and food.  DH even recognizes the difference in service.

[sid_9169]

Oh, I miss the good 'ol days of the tomahawk ribeye...

[LulaMae]

We went on our first NCl cruise this year, so I can't compare to previous experiences, but I found Cagney's underwhelming. Our servers were friendly, but they all seemed to be in training--not quite up to par. We had to ask for the same things multiple times before to we got them. My mother had no napkin for a good part of the meal, despite asking for one several times. Drinks went unrefilled. My side of onion rings was three small rings that seemed to have come from a freezer bag. All in all, I was not impressed.

[graphicguy]

Not sure, but it seems the experiences in the Specialty Dining restaurants, but I've dined in Cagney's on the Gem, Breakaway, Getaway, Epic and Escape, over the course of the last 8 years.  My dinners have always been excellent.  Steaks were well prepared and of high quality.  Sides were very good.

 

I know my (ex) wife at the time had to send her steak back when we sailed the Breakaway about 5 years ago because it was too "raw" (her word).  She had ordered it rare, and it certainly came that way. But, I think what she really wanted was medium.  The wait staff apologized profusely and doubled up on our deserts as a result, after the Maitre'D came over to take care of us after the complaint.  He actually comped us another Cagney's dinner as a result.

 

Most recently, I ate at Cagney's on the Escape.  Again, great steak...cooked well (I always get my steaks medium rare) and the sides were very much to my liking (thinking it was mushrooms and polenta).

 

Wonder if there's a difference on older ships vs newer ships?  Port of embarkation?  I've done the behind the scenes tour a couple of times, and their provisions all seem to be top notch from what I can tell.  Perhaps different embarkation cities have different providers that could affect the meals?

[teachberry]

We just finished our cruise on the Joy and enjoyed both of our dinners at Cagneys. I was disappointed in the changes in the sides. If you want a vegetable, besides creamed spinach, you are out of luck.  You have 4 potato options, mac and cheese, polenta, mushrooms, onion rings and creamed corn. 

[Jasonmom]

Looking forward to first time meal at Cagney's.  What meal would you recommend?

 

[ppcox]

Just off the Star and Cagney's was as good as usual. It’s always a wow for food and service.