Smoked Salmon for Breakfast

[FLAHAM]

On the Escape last week, I really enjoyed the smoked salmon on an open-faced bagel, served with tomato, onion and capers, in the MDRs for breakfast.  Usually had it with a half grapefruit.  Is this typically available on NCL ships?

[mjkacmom]

Yes, in the MDR. It was discontinued a few years ago in the buffet.

[Paul Bogle]

The buffet offers a salmon mousse with capers. I find it unimpressive but perhaps it was a bad day.

[IrieBajan54]

Yes! I eat breakfast in the MDR everyday. I always order several slices without the bagel as my bacon.

Edited September 29, 2019 by IrieBajan54
correction

[drvmywifecrzy]

I have had it on multiple NCL ships in the MDR

[mking8288]

Ditto, I just got my fixes on the Dawn in the MDR as a side, listed on the breakfast menu & bagel lightly toasted. No extra charge.

 

[yearsofcruising]

yuppers and also available in the Taste & Savour dining rooms

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, Paul Bogle said:

The buffet offers a salmon mousse with capers. I find it unimpressive but perhaps it was a bad day.

Nope...it's unimpressive every day...and the word unimpressive doesn't do justice to how bad it is compared to actual slices of smoked salmon.

[EllieinNJ]

If you ask for smoked salmon in the buffet they will get you some.  And it's been on every breakfast menu in the MDR of the NCL ships that I've been on.

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

On the Escape last week, I really enjoyed the smoked salmon on an open-faced bagel, served with tomato, onion and capers, in the MDRs for breakfast.  Usually had it with a half grapefruit.  Is this typically available on NCL ships?

ave it almost every morning on all NCL cruises. It is only available in the MDR. What they serve in the buffet is pretty awful. I have heard you can ask them to get you lox but we have never tried it. We are leaning more and more all the time to the MDR for breakfast.   

[JayS]

11 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

If you ask for smoked salmon in the buffet they will get you some.  And it's been on every breakfast menu in the MDR of the NCL ships that I've been on.

On the Escape it was NOT available in the buffet, only the mousse.😣

In the MDRs the same as the other posters.

[EllieinNJ]

37 minutes ago, JayS said:

On the Escape it was NOT available in the buffet, only the mousse.😣

In the MDRs the same as the other posters.

I have been on seven different NCL ships (but not the Escape) and have gotten lox (smoked salmon) every time I  asked a buffet worker to get me some.

[stormynow]

2 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

I have been on seven different NCL ships (but not the Escape) and have gotten lox (smoked salmon) every time I  asked a buffet worker to get me some.

That's interesting.  Will try that on the Sky in 3 weeks.  Thanks for the info.  Stormy

[luv2kroooz]

I think it varies by ship. Epic in January 2019 had it in buffet.

Jade, Dawn, Gem did not.

[realnurse2]

How about the Bliss-   MDR   or buffet if you ask?

[BirdTravels]

NCL intentionally serves salmon only in the MDRs. That change was made about a year and a half ago. Reportedly to get more people into the MDR. 

 

Here's our smoked salmon and avocado toast on the Joy from last month (concierge breakfast)

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Reportedly to get more people into the MDR. 

I think that's a really bad guess. If some general manager or f&b director  told  you that I can virtually guarantee they were either lying or they're as dumb as a rock.

 

It's very, very expensive and by not having it out on the buffet they're going to use a lot less of it thereby lowering their food expenditures.

[Crown Vic]

5 hours ago, realnurse2 said:

How about the Bliss-   MDR   or buffet if you ask?

Smoked salmon, as stated in other posts, is available in the MDRs. It is NOT available in the Bliss or Jewel buffets, or was not when we were on board, as per orders from Head Office. We were told this by the Executive Chef. Another example of reducing the ‘bottom line’...CV...

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

I think that's a really bad guess. If some general manager or f&b director  told  you that I can virtually guarantee they were either lying or they're as dumb as a rock.

 

It's very, very expensive and by not having it out on the buffet they're going to use a lot less of it thereby lowering their food expenditures.

We dined with the Asst General manager and Food and Beverage director on the Escape and they must be dumb as rocks. NCL took fish sticks off the menu and replaced them with poached salmon.  They took chicken fingers off the menu (which was the topic of countless CC threads) and replaced it with rotisserie chicken. The chicken noodle soup was replaced with seafood gumbo. All to save money. 

[Nola26]

Available as an omelet ingredient in the pub.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

We dined with the Asst General manager and Food and Beverage director on the Escape and they must be dumb as rocks. NCL took fish sticks off the menu and replaced them with poached salmon.  They took chicken fingers off the menu (which was the topic of countless CC threads) and replaced it with rotisserie chicken. The chicken noodle soup was replaced with seafood gumbo. All to save money. 

Obviously you missed my point. When I said they were either lying or as dumb as a rock it's because I know they're not as dumb as a rock.

 

It's absolutely laughable to think they would keep smoked salmon on the MDR menu but remove it from the buffet to get more passengers to eat breakfast in the MDR. They couldn't serve breakfast in a timely fashion in the MDR even before that. Lots of passengers, myself included won't go to the MDR for breakfast because it takes forever to eat breakfast there. Plus the MDR breakfast hours are very limited compared to the breakfast in the buffet, O'Sheehan's or other venues that may serve it on certain ships, such as Margaritaville. NCL has taken menu item after menu item away over the years in order to save money, even in the specialty restauarnts where you're paying extra. Once in a while one may reappear, such as lobster tails in a specialty restaurant, but they haven't put lobster tails back on the MDR menu , now have they?

 

Have you ever bought  smoked salmon? Cheap prepackaged stuff they sell in Walmart is $25 per pound. Good stuff can easily cost $40 or $50 a pound and up. I know that's retail, but smoked salmon could be among the most expensive items on a price per pound basis that a cruise line might buy...too expensive to make it readily available to the hungry hordes who eat in the buffet. That's the real answer. 

[FLAHAM]

Well, it certainly induces me to breakfast in the MDRs rather than the buffet.

[bones774]

36 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Obviously you missed my point. When I said they were either lying or as dumb as a rock it's because I know they're not as dumb as a rock.

 

It's absolutely laughable to think they would keep smoked salmon on the MDR menu but remove it from the buffet to get more passengers to eat breakfast in the MDR. They couldn't serve breakfast in a timely fashion in the MDR even before that. Lots of passengers, myself included won't go to the MDR for breakfast because it takes forever to eat breakfast there. Plus the MDR breakfast hours are very limited compared to the breakfast in the buffet, O'Sheehan's or other venues that may serve it on certain ships, such as Margaritaville. NCL has taken menu item after menu item away over the years in order to save money, even in the specialty restauarnts where you're paying extra. Once in a while one may reappear, such as lobster tails in a specialty restaurant, but they haven't put lobster tails back on the MDR menu , now have they?

 

Have you ever bought  smoked salmon? Cheap prepackaged stuff they sell in Walmart is $25 per pound. Good stuff can easily cost $40 or $50 a pound and up. I know that's retail, but smoked salmon could be among the most expensive items on a price per pound basis that a cruise line might buy...too expensive to make it readily available to the hungry hordes who eat in the buffet. That's the real answer. 

Prosciutto=$$$

[nildib]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask about the EPIC... we were on it last year and the ride at night was so awful, usually cruise ships rock us to sleep but on the EPIC, it was like experiencing an earthquake because the bed would shake so rough, it was like  if someone is shaking it so bad, to wake you up and it DOES!  This was so bad for my husband because the next day he just didn't feel rested, my son didn't do well either fighting the sea sickness from the rough sail...  I was not so over taken from it all just I didn't care for the ship (I enjoyed the GETAWAY having a mini golf, this one for a 58 year old, didn't have anything really for me to enjoy on the Epic) so wasn't too crazy about the EPIC but was always wanting to visit the Southern Carribean Islands and offered by the EPIC so I figured, we'd be mostly visiting the islands daily anyways so it didn't matter much to me... 

 

BUT TOTALLY forgot how it affected them and booked an 11 day cruise yesterday!  When I mentioned to my husband and son that it was on the EPIC, the same ship we were on last year, they made me RECALL right away how they didn't enjoy it, my son doesn't even want to go now!!!  So when I called Norwegian today, they said they can't cancel the trip without losing my money! 

 

I just wanted to know has anybody experienced this rough shaking at night on the EPIC?  Maybe it was just the ocean that month, I believe end of November?  Or maybe they're saling more smoothly now, it seems they were saliling maybe tooo fast, IDK but we're going on beginning of January 2020.  Has anybody else experienced this on the EPIC during the month of January?   Please advise or copy paste this question, where it's suppose to be, I TRULY would appreciate your all feedback or your suggestions...  Thanks in Advance!     

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Obviously you missed my point. When I said they were either lying or as dumb as a rock it's because I know they're not as dumb as a rock.

 

It's absolutely laughable to think they would keep smoked salmon on the MDR menu but remove it from the buffet to get more passengers to eat breakfast in the MDR. They couldn't serve breakfast in a timely fashion in the MDR even before that. Lots of passengers, myself included won't go to the MDR for breakfast because it takes forever to eat breakfast there. Plus the MDR breakfast hours are very limited compared to the breakfast in the buffet, O'Sheehan's or other venues that may serve it on certain ships, such as Margaritaville. NCL has taken menu item after menu item away over the years in order to save money, even in the specialty restaurants where you're paying extra. Once in a while one may reappear, such as lobster tails in a specialty restaurant, but they haven't put lobster tails back on the MDR menu , now have they?

 

Have you ever bought  smoked salmon? Cheap prepackaged stuff they sell in Walmart is $25 per pound. Good stuff can easily cost $40 or $50 a pound and up. I know that's retail, but smoked salmon could be among the most expensive items on a price per pound basis that a cruise line might buy...too expensive to make it readily available to the hungry hordes who eat in the buffet. That's the real answer. 

So,  you are asserting that the Food and Beverage director was flat out lying when he made an unprompted comment about the rationale for the change was not cost-driven. 

 

And that rather than believing the head of food and beverage, everyone should believe your totally unsubstantiated claims.... Because you shop at Walmart... And have "The Real Answer"....

 

If that were the real answer, then why serve it at all? 

Edited October 1, 2019 by BirdTravels